Drowning my Sorrows
by ugosglasses
Summary: Hades can't handle living anymore. More 3,000 years in this world and he can't take it any longer. In an attempt to kill himself, he jumps into a river during a strong storm. Takeru jumps after him and saves him, even if the man didn't wished to be saved. He had enough of his misery and wanted to end everything. Contains mature subjects and sex scenes
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

This was his chance. With a mortal body, he could finally put an end to his miserable existence. He could finally stop bringing misfortune to the people he loved, and join the stars he loved so much.

It was raining hard, and the current made it impossible to even think about crossing the river. The water was overflowing. It was the best moment to do it.

Hades wasn't scared, oh no. After more than 3000 years of watching humans come and go, death was nothing. It was all he knew, all he had ever known in fact. He felt like he was going to embrace his existence perfectly if he died. The god of the underworld, ruler of the dead, dying. Kind of ironic, no?

As he looked at the water, Hades prepared to let himself fall. He hoped he would hit his head and drown quickly. He hoped it would be fast, that no one would be able to save him. And yet, he hoped it would take a long time, and it would be painful. He didn't belong in this world, he never did. The only time he felt he had a home, he felt he was important, was at the beginning of his relationship with Persephone. But since that time, a lot of things had happened, and they weren't together anymore. He was ruling the dead alone, with no company but Cerberus, whom he barely saw, since the three-headed dog was guarding the doors of death.

"HADES" the god heard as he was about to let himself fall.

He briefly turned around. Hades saw a blue haired boy running toward him, followed by other people, including a purple headed girl. Apparently, he hadn't been quick enough. How did they find him?

Oh, of course. The answer was simple, and very infuriating: his jerk of a brother, Zeus, probably found him soon after one of his nephews declared he had disappeared. Since Zeus would never leave the comfort of his throne room, even to help his big brother, he sent his classmate to his "rescue".

Now was his chance. If he waited any longer, he knew he wouldn't be able to make his move. He had walked for hours to find the place where the river was the strongest, and the farthest away from the academy.

Without a second thought, as his friends were getting closer, he let himself fall into the cold water. The last thing he heard was an echo of screams and his name.

The water moved his body as he sank deeply in the river. Eyes closed, he thought back on his life, especially the most recent events.

Ah, how sweet was it to finally leave this earth. His mind was clear. He didn't regret his choice. He knew it was for the best. He didn't regret anything, except maybe not being able to be true about his feeling toward a certain someone…

Unconsciousness enveloped him as he descended toward the bottom of the raging river. His lungs were burning, but at this point he didn't feel anything. Soon, he'd be dead. He wondered where he would end up. Would he end up in Erebos, since he was dying in his human form?

Darkness enveloped him and all was fine.

* * *

The others were now standing where Hades had jumped off. Apollon threw himself to the ground, looking at the water, trying to see something. Alas, the mud made it impossible to distinguish anything.

"Do you see him?" Dionysus asked to his brother, his tone anguished.

"No it's too dark, I can't see a thing! It's really dark!" the sun god replied, completely panicked.

"Damn it" Takeru breathed as he kicked off his shoes.

As the sea god undressed, the others looked at him, worried. What was he doing? Was he seriously thinking of jumping in after Hades?

"Totsuka Takeru, the current is too strong" Tsukito started, but was cut off by his brother.

"I'm the god of sea and Storms, this is my playground" he replied as he threw his shirt to Yui, who caught it last minute.

Seconds later, he jumped into the water. Of course, because of the seal, his powers weren't full force. It was hard to navigate in this dirty water, but his powers weren't all he had. He was used to relying on his physical strength for this kind of stuff.

The boy swam as fast as he could, going to the surface every chance he had. His timing was very good, so he didn't swallow loads of water.

The darkness made it hard to see where he was going. He bumped his head quite a few time into rocks, and on a tree, which had fallen into the river, but nothing serious enough to knock him out.

After what felt like hours, he saw a faint glow in front of him. Using the little power he had over the element, he swam toward the body as fast as he could. Kicking and fighting the current, he finally reached the unconscious man. He took him with one arm and kicked the water to go up. When his head broke through the waves, he inhaled air quickly. He hadn't realized it, his mind completely focused on his task, but his lungs were on fire.

Weakly, he swam toward the riverbank, still holding Hades tightly. He was too tired to resist properly, and he unfortunately inhaled water. When he reached the muddy earth, the hands of his friends, whom had been following him from the river bank, helped them up on to the ground. While Apollon and Yui looked at Hades, Tsukito and Baldr helped the sea god to sit down.

Takeru coughed water out of his system, spitting it to a side. He was breathing heavily. When he had enough energy, he looked at the man he had just saved and his heart sank.

Hades wasn't moving. His chest was completely still. His nephew and Yui were desperately trying to reanimate him.

Was it too late? Had he jumped too late in the water to save the god? He couldn't even think about it. He hadn't hesitated one moment when he saw the god jump. He knew what to do. He couldn't bear thinking that the god was going to die. No, not after he… not after he had come to terms with his feeling. He turned his head toward the river, shivering.

Then, he heard someone coughing.

Takeru turned around so quickly he almost hurt himself. Hades was painfully breathing again. A sigh of relief escaped the god's lips. He was alive. He was… alive and he would live.

The young god's eyes rolled into his head as he fell unconscious, having pushed his body to its limit. Hades, even though he had started breathing again, wasn't conscious yet.

The group of gods, very much relieved that both were fine, picked them up and started walking toward the academy. Thor had picked Hades up, since he was the tallest, and most likely the only one able to carry Hades back to the school. Apollon picked up Takeru, following the group.

The two gods were left at the infirmary, under the care of the nurse and Apollon, since he was also the god of healing.

Hours passed, and Takeru was the first to wake up. He had suffered from exhaustion and hypothermia. He looked around, wondering where he was. Not recognising the place, he took a moment to remember what happened before his awakening.

* * *

 _He had been in class… it was right after lunch break. Everyone was there, except the Greeks. Sudd_ _enly, Apollon ran into the room, completely distressed._

" _Uncle is missing! My uncle is missing!" He half yelled in the class._

" _Calm down, Agana Belea" Balder spoke up as he stood up. "He is probably just at the library"_

 _Apollon shook his head "No! We've looked everywhere, me and Dee-dee! Everywhere!"_

" _What he said! Literally everywhere" Dionysus added, out of breath. "And we've done it twice"_

 _They started discussing where the eldest god could be. He had been there in the first part of the day, but as soon as the bell for lunch had rang, he had left, storming outside the classroom._

 _Takeru, in his corner of the class, started worrying. Recently, he had come to accept his feelings for the god, but since he was convinced the older man would never return his feelings, he had also accepted that he should move on. But still, he had realized the god of death had been a lot less happy these days._

 _As soon as the bell rang, he always left for his dorm, barely wishing good night to the others. He always had this sad, faraway look. And well, even if they had realized it, his friends only wanted to give him space, but at the same time let him know they cared._

" _Let's go see Lord Zeus, he might know something" the boy suggested, rising up._

 _Surprised, the others followed him. Takeru was attending school, yes, but he didn't seem interested in anything else, especially about knowing the others. The fact that he seemed to be just as worried as they were for the god of death surprised them a lot. Even if Takeru showed a lot of interest in Hades, they thought it was because he was the god of the dead and he hoped to be able to see that special person once again._

 _As they walked toward the headmaster's office, the storm outside grew more violent. Takeru felt stronger than usually. He looked outside and hoped Hades hadn't gone there. The storm was going to be very violent, he felt it deep within his bones._

 _Apollon knocked on the door and they waited. It opened, but unlike they imagined, Zeus was standing right in front of them. They had thought that he would be on his throne, but apparently, that was not the case._

" _Uncle Hades has been missing, we can't find him, and he disappeared right after lunch. We can't find him anywhere!" the sun god explained._

 _His father nodded. Takeru had never seen something like this. The normally stoic god showed some… was it distress? He seemed genuinely worried about the disappearance of his brother, which was something Takeru didn't think was possible._

" _So I've heard. You need to find him quickly. I'm scared of what could possibly happen" he said, obviously afraid of his older brother's actions._

 _Takeru was the first to react. He started running and went out by the first door he saw, the others yelling at him to wait. But the god of the sea didn't want to hear anything. He had to help Hades no matter what._

 _The rest happened quickly. Hades jumped, and it was clear in Takeru's head that he was jumping after him. He took a moment to calm his beating heart, remove his shoes and shirt, and jumped._

* * *

And now here he was. Hades was saved. He was fine, and he was going to live. He should be proud to have saved his friend from a certain death, but somehow he felt… like he shouldn't have done it. Like it was none of his business.

He turned his gaze toward the window. It was a clear night outside, and the stars were shining bright.

His eyes fell on the sleeping silhouette in the bed next to him, right next to the window. Hades was still fast asleep, an oxygen mask stuck to his face.

Takeru smiled. Despite his mixed feelings, he was happy to see Hades sleeping in the bed next to him. He was still worried about him, but he knew he was going to be more than fine… eventually. The reasons on why the god had jumped were still unknown. But Takeru was determined to help the god get better.

Enveloped in a blanket, the boy decided to get up and sit in the chair next to Hades. He looked at him, fast asleep. The Greek god looked strangely peaceful. Compared to his usual expression, it was quite a change. Takeru wanted to see more of the peaceful Hades than the troubled one.

He had only accepted his feeling for the death god a few days ago. At first, he thought what he felt was only admiration and hope that he would be able to see Izanami-san again with this man's help. But slowly, he had started feeling more than admiration. It had started during gym class. While changing in the boy's room, he happened to catch a glimpse of Hades without his shirt on. And for a brief moment, all he could think was "Damn he's hot".

After that, various events happened. The sea god didn't quite understand where this was all coming from, and he started to avoid the older god. But after wishing quite a few time that Hades was sharing his bed, Takeru asked himself a few questions… and came to the realization he was in love with the man.

At first, he was somewhat surprised. He had always thought he was more into women, since all his adventures had been with them. And yes, he did enjoy women a lot. Such fragile beings that could turn out to be scary and… well, not so fragile. But now…

Takeru remembered another time his gaze had been caught by male humans and gods. He always had thought it was because they seemed powerful. Could it have been more?

The sea god fell asleep on his chair. The night went silently, and nothing else happened until morning came.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Alright here is the second chapter!**

 **First off, I want to thank dragon-overlord-yuu for doing the beta of this fic! thank you so much ;w;**

 **second off, there is a smut scene in this chapter... don't talk to me about it. I know. I'm sorry ;_;**

 **Now, I hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Hades woke up, disoriented. Where was he? What was this room? And _what the hell was on his face?_

He tried to move his hand to remove the mask, but his muscles refused to obey him. Instead of panicking, he stayed calm and breathed slowly. A small headache was starting at the back of his head, and he didn't feel so good. Still… where could he be? Where was this place? Hades tried to recall the last events that had happened.

Right. The storm. His suicide attempt. He remembered his lungs burning in his chest, the cold water and the fast current. After that, all was black. But strangely, he was not dead.

Hades remembered his name being screamed, seconds before he jumped. And as he remembered who had yelled, his eyes fell on Totsuka Takeru, asleep in a chair next to his bed.

What was he even doing here? Why did he care about a person such as him? Hades was just a god, only good at taking care of the dead and bringing misfortune to his loved ones. And yet, this boy wouldn't stop. He was always talking to him, and trying to get his attention. Hades didn't mind at first. But when he started feeling a growing love for the younger god, he started being distant. No way in all Erebos was he letting anything happen to Takeru. But the more distant he got, the more he wanted to be close to the sea god.

One day, he had let his guard down. Takeru came to the astronomy club early, surprising Hades, who was replacing books on a shelf.

* * *

 _"_ _Hades-san! I've read about a constellation and I wanted to know what you knew about it!" the boy exclaimed, throwing his bag on a desk and half running toward the older god._

 _Hades snorted "Alright, which one?"_

 _"_ _Orion's belt" Takeru answered._

 _"_ _That's more an alignment of star, part of the Orion constellation."_

 _"_ _Whatever. Who was that guy?"_

 _Hades walked away, thinking. He was trying to remember what he knew about Orion. As he turned around, he saw the slight movement of the shelf, softly balancing and about to crash on Takeru, standing right in front of it. Before Hades could yell anything, he ran back to the boy and threw him to the ground, protecting him with his own body._

 _The books fell hard on him, and then the shelf followed. Resisting the urge to scream in pain, Hades hugged Takeru's body closer, the god's head cradled in his arms. When the room turned silent, he slowly let go of Takeru, his back in absolute horrible pain._

 _"_ _Ha-Hades-san! Don't move, I'll go get someone!" Takeru started crawling away from under his savior, but Hades stopped him._

 _"_ _No need. It's nothing. The shelf is not so heavy." Hades whispered, moving said shelf as he started rising, pain contorting his face._

 _Takeru removed the wooden piece, threw it away and quickly went to Hades' help. But the god refused the helping hand, hitting it away from him with the back of his own._

 _"_ _I… I've caused you enough trouble... I'm… sorry" Hades mumbled, then ran out of the class._

 _Takeru, too shocked, didn't go after him. It took a few minutes before he could even move a finger._

 _After that event, Hades stayed away from the sea god as much as he could. Whenever the boy would sit with him, or try to have a long conversation, Hades would find a way to escape. It was all his fault. Just like every time. He thought maybe this time, with Yui and the others' help, it could work, that his misfortune would leave him alone, but apparently not. It had decided to attack the only other person he had loved since Persephone._

 _He was tired of it. Always, always getting his happiness taken away from him because of this curse. Always, always having to move on and start somewhere else. He could never have a relation, he could never have any friends. He was meant to be alone forever and ever, for the sake of those he loved. He couldn't bear seeing them hurt ever again._

 _With the weight of his curse, he had decided to end this once and for all. And even if he didn't die, he'd go back to where he belonged, and no one would be hurt again because of him. And anyway, they'd all be happier that way. No one would miss him really. He was just someone passing by, not really worth the attention. His only way out was ending his life, and that was fine by him._

* * *

His misfortune had followed him even as he tried to die. It had made Takeru jump and save him, causing him pain probably, and hurting him yet once more.

A tear trailed down his cheek, more following a few seconds after. He wanted to wipe them away, but his arms still wouldn't obey him. Panicking slightly, Hades tried to move by any mean, but his body was barely responding.

"Calm down, Hades-san, it's okay" a sleepy voice said.

Takeru put his hand down on the man's arm. Hades couldn't move away from his touch, and that made him want to cry more. Oh how much he regretted everything…

"Hades" Takeru called out again as Hades didn't calm down.

"Let me go" the man said harshly.

"Not until you've calmed down" Takeru insisted.

It took a moment, but Hades finally stopped moving, or at least, trying to move. Takeru let go of his arm and sat back down in his chair. Hades turned his head away, looking at the opposite side of the room.

"How are you feeling?" the sea god asked, genuinely worried about his friend.

Hades kept silent, obstinately looking at the door. The oxygen masks was still stuck on his face. Figuring he probably didn't need it anymore, Takeru slowly reached out to remove it. Hades barely moved while Takeru helped him out. There was a long moment of silence, Hades ignoring his friend, and Takeru not daring to ask what he wanted to ask. How desperately he wanted to ask why Hades had done it, and yet he knew this would only make things worse.

"Leave, please" Hades whispered, not looking away from the door.

"I can't. The nurse didn't say I could go just yet." Takeru explained carefully.

He felt fine, and he probably could leave, but he didn't want to. Hades couldn't move for now, but that was only because of something Apollon made him drink earlier. The effects would probably wear off soon, especially now that Hades was awake.

Zeus had been clear. A few hours ago, when they had arrived at the infirmary, Takeru had been conscious briefly. He had heard about the potion, and he had seen Zeus talking to his classmates. He had said that under no circumstances Hades must be left alone. The headmaster didn't want his brother to try to end his life again.

"Then go back to your bed and stop talking to me" Hades crudely said, closing his eyes.

Takeru sighed and got to his feet, slowly walking to his bed and sitting on it. He didn't want to make Hades any angrier than he already was… and now he could actually see his face. He didn't look in pain, but he did look exhausted and sad.

"Zeus said we couldn't leave you alone anymore" the sea god spoke up, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

Hades angrily cracked an eye open and successfully turned to his side, showing his back to Takeru. _The potion stopped working…_ Takeru couldn't help but think as Hades slowly got control over his limbs again.

"I know you two don't like each other, but he does care y'know"

"He does not. Now, shut _up_ "

The younger god looked at his friend in surprise. He had never seen Hades like this. He did know that his brother was a sensitive subject for him, but he felt he had to tell him. He didn't stop speaking, even though he knew that was making the mood of the elder god worst.

"A-fool-on and Dionysus will look after you in the dorms, and I was asked to look after you during day time. Or at least, they'll ask me that, they haven't properly done it yet. I just happened to hear it"

" _Shut up!"_ Hades thundered, quickly turning around and sitting up, his eyes wild.

For the first time since he met the man, Takeru got scared, and he wasn't easily scared. Both of Hades' eyes were visible, and his left one was the strangest thing he had ever seen. It was entirely black, save for the iris who was the same red as his right eye. He looked incredibly mad, and extremely dangerous.

Seeing the terror in Takeru's eyes, Hades calmed down. He looked away, his head hanging low. He buried his face in his hands and quietly started sobbing. The person he wanted to hurt the less was now afraid of him, because he had overreacted. Why couldn't they have left him alone? Why did they have to save him?

As he cried, Takeru got up and walked yet once more toward Hades. He climbed on the bed and sat in front of him. As Hades looked up, just about to tell him to go away and leave him alone, Takeru grabbed his face with two hands and kissed him passionately on the lips.

Hades' first reaction was to push him away, but he did it so weakly that Takeru barely moved. As much as he wanted to protect the boy, he was unable to say no to the feeling of his lips pressed against his, his hands on his cheeks, wiping the tears away with his thumbs as he kept kissing the older god.

The god of death gave in. He opened up just a little, allowing Takeru to make him fall on his back as he kept kissing him harder, biting Hades' lips, one of his hand entangling in the man's curly hair. He started to undo Hades' shirt with the other, his mouth moving from his lips to his neck, biting it hard enough to leave a mark. The Greek god started pulling at the top of Takeru's shirt, urging him to remove it.

Hades hadn't shared his bed with someone else in a long time. He hadn't forgotten, but it still felt weird, especially with Takeru. He was convinced he was only doing it because of how weak Hades had appeared, that no feelings were involved in this. He didn't want Takeru to love him. He wanted everyone to hate him. It would just make things a lot simpler for him. He'd be able to leave without anyone missing him, he'd be free of all attachment. He'd only have his own feelings, and that'd be fine.

Takeru wasn't really thinking this through. He was purely letting his instinct guide him. When he saw Hades crying, he couldn't help himself. He just wanted the poor man to stop suffering, and he didn't quite know how to help. At first he just wanted to hug him, but as his head got closer to Hades', he ended up kissing him. From there, he gave in to the temptation, pushing his luck as far as he could. Since Hades didn't push him away, he kept going, removing the man's shirt, then his own after the god had urged him to.

The sea god left trails of light kisses on the pale skin, starting from Hades' strong jaw and slowly going down, nibbling at the skin from time to time. As he made his way down, his hands worked at removing the god's pants, unbuckling the belt, gently pulling them toward his feet. Through Hades' underwear, he could see the shape of his half-hard penis, now even more tempted than before. His hand grasped it gently, moving slowly around it. A groan came out of Hades throat, giving Takeru the courage to pursue his doing.

He pulled the underwear down, and once they were off Hades' body, he threw them to the ground. Without missing a beat, he put the head of the god's cock in his mouth, rubbing the base with his hand as he sucked.

Hades covered his face with his arms, trying to muffle his moan. He didn't expect Takeru to be this good, to be fair. He hadn't had this kind of relationship in a really long time, and he was slowly forgetting that Takeru was doing it out of pity for him.

Before Hades could cum, Takeru sat on his heels and looked around the room… he needed lube. He doubted they had that in the infirmary. Still, he dared open the drawer, and to his surprise, he found a tube. He had no idea why it was there, but he was glad it was.

He covered his finger with lubricant and proceeded on stretching Hades. The older god muffled the pained sounds escaping his lips with his pillow. He deserved this pain anyway. He felt like he shouldn't have let Takeru continue, even though he wanted it.

After minutes of insufferable pain, Hades was about to ask the Japanese god to stop. But he realized the pain was easing as Takeru's finger moved, preparing him to what would come next.

Some more time passed and Takeru decided Hades was ready. He took the lube again and covered his cock with it, then settled himself between Hades. The man's face was still covered by a pillow, making Takeru a bit sad. He forced him to spread his legs, so that he'd have a better angle at this. Gently, he put the head of his penis in, waiting for a reaction in Hades' body language. He reached out to get the pillow out of the man's face as he inserted more of himself in the god of the underworld.

Takeru blushed as he saw Hades' face. The man was completely flushed, his hair out of his face, both of his eyes closed. His lips were slightly parted, small sound of discomfort coming out of him as Takeru thrust inside. Unable to stop himself, he started kissing the other god again as he set a slow pace.

If he didn't know he could love boys, Takeru had had his fair share of one night stands with some, most of them being the result of him consuming too much sake. He didn't know if it was Hades' first time with a man, or just his first time at all. The faces he made were so… cute.

His pace slightly accelerating, Takeru started kissing Hades' neck, leaving bite marks and hickeys here and there. Fortunately, the Greek god's uniform went up high enough to cover those love marks, so nobody would know the next day.

Hades' legs were wrapped around Takeru's waist, his arms over his head, and his head thrown back as he panted. Using only one arm to support himself, Takeru's now free hand went down and grabbed the Greek god's hard cock, giving him a hand job as he kept thrusting inside him. Takeru was about to cum, and he was pretty sure Hades was too.

Sticky liquid covered his hand as Hades moaned aloud. Blushing harder at the sight, Takeru kept thrusting and finally released too, suddenly exhausted by the action. He let himself fall on top of the god, panting hard.

His head was resting on Hades' chest as he slowly recovered, the fog of the euphoric feeling slowly dissolving. What had he done? Why had he even done it? Out of pity? Sure he loved Hades but still. He thought the god just needed some sort of physical contact after what happened.

Takeru silently rose and got some wet towel to clean himself. He gave Hades one too, but it took a little while before the Greek god could move. As the younger one started dressing up again, his back to Hades, he grumbled a few words that hurt the man even more.

"Forget this happened. I… don't know why I did it"

After having thrown Hades' trousers to him, Takeru left the infirmary. As he opened the door, he saw Apollon about to enter the room, a smile on his face.

"Take-Take!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You should wait a few minutes before entering the infirmary" the Japanese god grumbled as he left, walking quickly.

"Take-Take! Wait! Let me check you out to see if you're alright!" Apollon called after him, but Takeru ignored him.

"I guess he must be alright" the sun god shrugged and turned around to the door. "Uncle! Are you awake uncle?" he said as he walked in.

Hades gave him a cold look. He had put his trousers back on, and had started buttoning up his shirt. Definitely, they were not going to leave him alone.

"Zeus doesn't want us to leave you alone at any time, so if you don't feel like going to class I'll stay with you! That's alright, right?" he happily said, approaching the god.

Hades nodded, but didn't speak. He still felt weak, both from the night before and what had just happened. He didn't trust his legs to support him, so he laid back in bed, turning his back to his nephew.

"I'm tired. I'll sleep some more" he quietly announced.

"Alright then I'll… study" Apollon replied, slightly sad. "I'll be right here if you need me"

Hades didn't answer and fell asleep in the hope that Thanatos would come get him in his sleep this time. He'd never be able to face Takeru or any of the others again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Alright here we are with chapter 3!**

 **thanks again to dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta thanks so much ;w;**

* * *

A few days had passed since the incident. Hades had stayed in his room the whole time. They had asked Melissa to look after him so that Apollon or Dionysus wouldn't have to skip classes every day to look after their uncle.

Hades felt empty. He sat by his window, staring at the yard, not able to eat anything. His nephews forced him to swallow something, but when left alone, he was unable to nourish himself.

On the fourth day after his suicide attempt, classes had been canceled by Thoth for some reason. Nobody really knowing why, they went home. It was a rainy day, so they preferred staying in their dorm or going to one of the dorm of the other pantheons'. Dionysus tried to get his uncle to get out, but nothing worked. Hades absolutely refused to leave his room, and nothing, not even strawberry rice cake could make him leave his place by the window.

Hades was laying down on his bed, looking at the ceiling, wearing nothing more than his pajama pants, when he heard something hit his window. Thinking it was probably just a branch or something that was carried by the wind, he didn't react. But after hearing it three, and a fourth time, Hades decided to investigate the sound.

Standing up, he walked up to his window and looked outside. He saw nothing and was about to go back to his bed when he saw a pebble hitting the glass. Surprised, he opened it and looked down.

In the rain was standing Takeru, completely wet, a bunch of small rocks in one hand. He looked up to see Hades glaring at him from his bedroom, and smiled.

"Finally!"

"What is it you want?" Hades grumbled.

"Just to talk." Takeru replied, letting go of his small rocks.

"Go home you'll catch a cold" the Greek god coldly replied, turning his back to the window.

"Wait! Please... It won't be too long. I just want to talk" he pleaded.

Hades, still showing his back to the window, was thinking. Should he let him in? He didn't quite want to see anyone right now… except Takeru. How troublesome. As much as he wanted to see him, he felt unable to face him again. Not after… what had happened. And not only at the infirmary. Hades had jumped both because he was tired of this world and because he wanted to keep the person he loved most in the world safe from his misery. Takeru could have been hurt when that shelf fell in the astronomy class, if Hades hadn't reacted in time. And it would have been his fault, just like it was his fault Takeru risked his life when he had jumped into the river.

"Hades?" the sea god called back. What was taking him so long anyway?

Even though he felt embarrassed for what he had done to him, Takeru was also worried. From what he heard, Hades wasn't doing any better. He couldn't stand by and do nothing. He had to help him.

"I brought strawberry daifuku" he added, in hope that this would convince Hades to let him in.

"I'm not-" Hades started to protest, but his stomach growled loudly. He was glad the storm made it impossible for Takeru to hear it.

With an angry sigh, he turned around and made a sign to Takeru to invite him in. The Japanese god ran to the door with a smile of victory on his lips. He patiently waited for Hades to come down and open it for him.

Meanwhile, Hades picked a random shirt that he believed was clean, and came out of his room for the first time since he had entered it. Apollon, who was going up the stairs as Hades was walking them down, looked at him in awe.

"Dee-dee! Dee-dee uncle is out of his room!" he yelled, running back from where he was from.

"What?" Hades heard Dionysus' muffled voice reply.

Without even looking at his nephews, Hades went straight for the door while the two boys looked at him in anticipation. Was he going outside? In his pajamas?

When he opened the door, they hold their breath and were surprised to see Takeru, completely soaked, waiting on the other side. The brothers looked at each other in surprise. They never heard him knocking! How could Hades have heard him if they hadn't?

Without even sharing a word, with anyone, Hades turned around and walked back to where he was from, this time Takeru following him. The smaller god waved at the other two, who waved back, still astonished. What was going on anyway?

* * *

Hades entered his room without even checking if Takeru was following him. He sat down on his bed, his back against the wall, hugging his knees. Takeru was standing in the doorway, looking at the decoration. It was a lot different from what he had imagined. He thought the room would be darker, and a lot less decorated than it was. Instead, he found a room with white as the dominant color, with posters of stars hanged everywhere and books on every table. Hades' telescope was out of its case and just waiting to be used next to the window. A violin case was resting against the wall, and a vase full of red roses added colors to the room.

"Wow, it's not what I thought I'd find" he whispered, surprised.

"Did you think it'd be all black with skulls everywhere?" Hades replied bitterly.

"No, I did not" Takeru half lied.

He did think it would be a lot darker. He hadn't imagined the skulls, but he wouldn't have been surprised if he had found some.

Takeru pulled the unique chair from Hades' study desks and sat next to the bed. He then put his hand in the bag he had been carrying and got something out. He handed the rice cakes to Hades, who took a moment to reach out for it. He opened the bag and munched on the pastry.

"I made them with Yui yesterday" the Japanese boy declared as his friend ate.

"Tell her thank you from me."

"What about me?"

Hades sighed "Yes, thank you too"

"Apollon said you wouldn't eat anything, but I guess you were too starved to refuse my delicious daifuku" Takeru tried to joke, without much success.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"A-about the other day" the boy stuttered, looking away.

There was a long moment of silence where none of the boy dared to talk. Takeru absolutely wanted to say he was sorry, but Hades wanted to forget the whole thing.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it, and to be honest I don't know why I did it."

He did know why, but telling that to Hades right now felt wrong.

"Forget it. Is that all?"

"Actually, it was but now that I'm inside, might as well chat longer"

Hades glared at him as he ate another rice cake. They tasted incredible, and it felt good to eat a bit. He had originally planned to let himself starve to death, but apparently that wasn't going to happen, if everyone kept offering him his favorite food.

"Go away, please. I ate something and you said you were sorry. I'm not really in the mood to talk"

"But I am. You don't have to answer or anything. Is that okay?" Takeru proposed.

Since the classes had been canceled, the Japanese god had gotten bored quickly. He didn't feel like doing pranks with Loki nor hanging out with his brother. He wanted to check on Hades, and he wanted to spend time with him. His crush was getting out of hand, wasn't it?

"Do what you want" Hades mumbled as he finished the last daifuku.

Takeru smiled widely. He started telling Hades about random stuff, mostly school stuff, and keeping him up to date with what they had seen in class the last days. Quickly, it became random rambles. Hades was not looking at him, and he didn't even appear to listen, but he was. And it made him feel a bit better.

It was not until a lot later that Takeru realized just how late it was. He had arrived around 11 AM and it was maybe 4 PM. His stomach growled, making him stop mid-sentence.

"You haven't eaten because of me" Hades spoke for the first time since he told Takeru to do whatever he wanted.

"Nah, I just got carried away" he laughed.

Truth to be said, even if he was hungry, he didn't want to leave. He just wanted to spend time with Hades, and even if this afternoon had felt one-sided, he enjoyed it.

"I could… ask Apollon to bring you food" Hades proposed out of the blue, still looking to the side.

He hadn't moved at all during the day, unlike Takeru who stayed inside the room but couldn't stay still for so long. He had walked around the room, changed places, sat on the desk, the ground, anywhere he could, except the bed. All of that while telling Hades random stuff.

Takeru didn't respond. He was too surprised by Hades' proposition. Finally, as the surprise passed, a smile appeared on his face. Hades was actually telling him he could stay. Heart beating loud in his chest, he agreed to the man's suggestion.

Without even a look at him, the Greek god moved for the first time in forever and walked to the door. He called Apollon, and when he received an answer, asked for him to bring food for Takeru when he could. The sun god, glad his uncle was letting someone in his closed bubble, beamed with a smile and agreed. Hades closed his door once more and went back to the bed, and sat back in his corner. However, his legs were stretched, unlike earlier where he had his arms wrapped up around them, hugging them to his chest. His arms were crossed, and his only visible eye looked at Takeru.

"Thank you" he whispered as he looked away this time, slightly embarrassed.

"For what?" the Japanese god replied, confused.

"For… for today."

Hades didn't want to say "for staying with me when I wanted to be alone", so he didn't add anything, but he was grateful. As much as he tried to cut himself from his friends, he still enjoyed their company. And Takeru staying here, talking about the sun and the rain and anything that crossed his mind, without expecting him to answer to anything, made him extremely happy, but also very sad. He loved him to pieces, but they could never be together.

"You should start coming back to classes" Takeru said, ignoring the joy he felt.

"I don't want to"

"I don't want to attend classes either, but if we don't all attend, we'll all be stuck here."

"I'll ask Zeus to make you graduate without me."

"But we don't want that! You know Yui's pretty worried? She doesn't dare come here because she doesn't know what to tell you. We're all pretty astounded by your suicide attempt. Even Loki! It's not the same without you"

Hades' look darkened "Whatever you say won't make me happy or anything. You don't understand half of how I feel. I'm sorry you all worry, but you shouldn't."

"And why is that?" Takeru harshly replied.

"Because I'm not worth worrying for."

Taken aback by the reply, Takeru sat down on his chair, since he had been standing. He looked at Hades in disbelief. How could this man be so broken that he believed he wasn't worth being cared about?

"I don't know what happened to you, Hades, and whatever makes you feel like you're not worth caring for, or whoever made you feel that way is wrong. You're amazing, Hades! And I-" Takeru stopped himself before he could confess. "And I just want to help you" he finished in a whisper.

Hades stayed silent. He was fighting back tears. That's why he didn't deserve to be cared for. His friends wanted to help him, and all he would bring them in return was misfortune and bad luck.

"I don't need it" he mumbled back.

Takeru sighed heavily. He loved Hades, but sometimes he could be so goddamn annoying. But he also knew that continuing like that wouldn't help anything.

"At least promise me you'll come back to classes" he asked, hoping that he would at least get out of his bedroom.

"I can't-" Hades started to reply, but he was cut off.

"Promise me" Takeru pleaded.

The Greek god sighed and finally dared look at Takeru. "Will you leave me alone if I do?"

"At least for a while, yeah"

The god of death considered his offer. Takeru had mentioned he would have to follow him around, because no one wanted to leave Hades alone. They were scared he would try to attempt at his life again. That meant he'd spend more time than he wanted with him. Even then he didn't want anyone but him to do it. Those feelings were getting really, really frustrating.

"Fine" Hades agreed. "I'll attend classes again, but that's all."

Takeru smiled, relieved. He was glad this at least worked. Presenting his hand to Hades, the Japanese god smiled.

"Let's shake hands, to conclude this" he proposed.

Hades reluctantly shook hands with him, looking slightly annoyed. But seeing Takeru's triumphant look, he couldn't help but smile. The thought of pulling him in for a hug traversed his mind, but he left that thought at the back of his brain. He couldn't show how much he cared for him. It would only hurt him more later.

Apollon chose that moment to walk in with a tray of food. On it was two plates, one for his uncle and one for Takeru, as Hades had asked.

"I'm not interrupting something right? Should I come back later?" the sun god worried.

"It's a bit too late to worry about disturbing us, y'know" Takeru mentioned. "Now give me the food I'm starving."

Apollon put the tray down on the table next to Hades' bed. The Japanese god took his plate and started eating. Hades looked at the food, but didn't touch any.

"If you need anything just tell me" Apollon concluded as he started walking toward the door.

Once he was out, Takeru turned toward Hades "He's acting like he's your mom or something"

Hades smiled as he reached for his plate. "Yeah. He's been acting like that for the past days"

Hades nibbled at the food as Takeru kept talking, just like he did during the day. A sort of peace settled between the two. It was strange, considering that both of them didn't want to see the other, and now here they were, eating and talking. Still convinced their feelings were one sided, the two gods were still going to try and be simple friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Days passed without anything special happening. Hades wasn't really doing any better, but he was still attending classes and making simple conversation with his classmates. Even though he didn't want to start going to club activities yet, he was sort of forced to go since no one would leave him go back to his dorm alone. He had to stay with Takeru, who attended the astronomy club.

So every day after school they would meet up in their club room. Hades would sit at his desk and read, while the others discussed about stars. Every now and then they would ask their club president for information about a specific star or a constellation, trying to include him more in their activities. Unfortunately, it didn't work really. Hades would reply, yes, but his answers were short and simple. The less he interacted with them, the better he felt.

Hades still felt horrible. He couldn't chase away the feeling he should have died. He didn't belong in this world anymore. His time had come, or so he believed. He thought he was the best person to decide when he should die, and yet he couldn't do so. How… annoying.

"Hades-san!" Yui called from the other side of the room. "Can you help me with something?"

Hades sighed. He got up and walked over to the table where his nephews and his friends were looking at a map of the sky. They all had a puzzled look. Reluctantly, Hades looked at the map and asked them what the problem was.

"We don't quite understand the hemisphere, and to be honest we're not sure what stars are visible this season." The girl explained, looking at him over her shoulder.

Hades examined the map, quickly looked outside, and started pointing to a section of the map "These stars should be visible this season. The north hemisphere is the upper part of the earth, while the south hemisphere is the lower part of the earth. Depending on the seasons and where you are, you can see different stars. I do not know in what hemisphere we are so it's a bit hard to say exactly what we will see, but considering it is summer, these are the main stars we should see" he concluded.

"That's really amazing uncle! You're so amazing!"

"It's just... basic knowledge" he replied before walking back to his desk.

He felt extremely tired and worn out and simply wanted to go to bed straight away. That didn't escape Takeru, who was looking at him from his place. He had seen the wariness on Hades' face, and the man also seemed paler than usual, which was something to say as Hades' skin was fairly white.

"I'm kinda tired. Going home" Takeru announced, rising up from his chair. "Hades, you're staying or coming back with me?" he proposed, hoping the man would choose the later.

"I'll go with you" the Greek god seemed relieved by Takeru's proposition, his face softening a little.

They packed their stuff in their bag and wished a good night to the others. In silence, they walked through the corridors of the school. The sun had started to sink, painting the sky a warm orange shade.

"Thank you for… that"

"You don't look so well, and I knew you wouldn't ask to leave on your own because you know the two idiots love the club, and I know you can't face Yui alone either so. I was tired anyway, gym class was pretty rough"

Takeru was convinced that, in fact, Hades had feelings for Yui. After all, she was the one who got him out of his cocoon, before he returned into it. She got him to attend school, and helped him create the astronomy club and recruit members. They usually got along well, but since that time, Hades could barely look at her, ashamed of what he had done.

"You know, Yui likes you" he started, trying to prove his point even though it was hurting him.

"What?" Hades stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking at his friend in disbelief.

They were almost out of the school. They could feel the warm wind coming in from the open windows, ruffling their hair and keeping going through the school.

"Don't be an idiot." Hades added as he started walking again.

"Haven't you seen how she looks at you?" Takeru continued to argue.

"Even if she had feelings for me, I do not feel the same way about her. She's like… another niece to me"

"You treat her with a lot more respect than your nephews"

A small smile appeared on Hades face. "I'm always kinder to my nieces. At least, the ones who aren't scared of me. No, Yui and I wouldn't work. And she has been looking at me with concern, not love, idiot"

"You're not lying?"

"Why would I? I'm not Loki."

"Ouch, that was pretty harsh to say about someone who isn't there to defend themselves" Takeru laughed.

Hades shrugged. He looked straight ahead of him. He felt like he was about to pass out, and only wanted to get home. He hadn't eaten much in the past few days… He was almost at his dorm. He'd be able to lay down and sleep his hunger off. He'd eat a small something in the morning, just to please Dionysus and Apollon, but otherwise…

He arrived at his dorm, wished Takeru good night and entered the small housing complex. He was going to close the door, but Takeru blocked it.

"Can I come in?"

"Why?" Hades asked, not hiding his surprise.

"I know you barely eat and I want to make sure you won't just go to your bed without eating"

"Why are you so persistent with me?" Hades angrily replied, trying to shut the door.

Unfortunately for him, in his state, it was a lost cause. It was hard for him to compete with Takeru's strength normally, and now he was weak from the lack of food in his system and the poor nights of sleep he had. Takeru easily entered the house. Furious, Hades quickly turned around and walked toward his bedroom at the top of the stairs. As he almost reached the stairs, he tripped over his own foot and fell head first to the ground with a loud thump.

Takeru rushed to his side and tried to help Hades up, but the man pushed him away. He had the same look in his eyes than the other day, at the infirmary. It was the Japanese god's second time seeing the cursed eye, and he was a lot more curious about it than scared this time.

"Leave me alone! I don't need your help!" Hades spat out the words as he rose to his feet.

He went upstairs and closed the door to his bedroom. Takeru couldn't stop staring at the door from downstairs. He couldn't possibly leave Hades alone, but at the same time he was afraid of what the man would do if he kept pestering him.

Deciding he couldn't leave Hades alone, and without having eaten anything, Takeru headed for the kitchen. He looked in the fridge and picked ingredients out to make sandwiches. He made them and waited a little. He wanted to give Hades time to cool down before he went upstairs, so he ate his own sandwich. When he considered it had been long enough, he took the plate and climbed the stairs silently. He knocked on the door and opened it, not waiting for an answer.

"Hades?" he called out.

The room was very dark. Takeru waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He walked in, looking for Hades. He heard someone weeping in the bathroom. Leaving the plate of food on the table, he walked over to the door. No lights were lit, so it was hard to distinguish anything. The younger god opened the light, so he wouldn't trip over Hades and make things worse. He found him sitting on the ground, his head in his hands, crying. Takeru knelt down next to the god and hugged him. Hades slightly turned around, surprised, as the Japanese god hugged him tighter.

"It's okay, Hades. You can cry" he whispered, his fingers entangling in Hades' hair.

Slowly, Hades' arms wrapped around Takeru, burying his face in the smaller god's neck. He cried harder in the boy's arms. He was tired of living, tired of hurting, tired of everything. He just wanted to curl up in a ball and never wake up again.

Takeru fought back tears as Hades wept in his arms. He never wanted to see him cry again. Never ever again. He pressed a kiss to the man's head, hugging him tightly. Hades was still sobbing, but he slightly backed away, so he could face Takeru, and kissed him on the lips, much like the other god had done back two weeks ago.

"I love you" Takeru mumbled against Hades lips, unable to keep it in any longer "I love you so much"

Hades looked at him in disbelief "If you're saying that just to make me feel better-"

"No! I- I thought _you_ didn't like me" he took a deep breath before talking again "I've had a crush on you for a while, and I thought it was just admiration and stuff, but- but it's not and I love you, I love you, I lo-"

Hades kissed him again, unable to hear more. They hugged for a little longer, before Takeru decided they should change place.

"Your bathroom floor is not really comfortable, can we move?"

The man nodded and waited for Takeru to get up before joining him. The Japanese god sat down on the bed, waiting for Hades to join him. When he did, Hades let himself fall on the bed, hugging Takeru's waist and burying his face in the boy's chest. Taken aback by the man's reaction, it took a few minutes for Takeru to react. Once the surprise passed, his hand started entangling itself in the man's hair.

Wow. It had happened all so quickly. Hades kissing him, _him_ confessing, and now they were cuddling in Hades bed, all of that in what, five minutes? Ten? He didn't know… nor care. A dumb smile stretched across his lips as he kept playing with… wait were they officially dating?

"Hades? Does that mean we're dating?" he couldn't help but ask, a bit worried.

"I... guess. Unless you don't want to date me"

"No! I mean, I want to date you. Gods, I have wanted to date you for a while, but I thought you didn't like me in that way. And I was convinced you were in love with Yui"

"Which would explain earlier"

"Yeah"

Hades was confused. His feelings were a mess. He was happy, on one hand, that Takeru and him were dating, even if what happened had been a blur. He was also sad, because that meant he would have to break his heart. They couldn't be together. It'd only finish horribly by either one of them dying, or anything worse. And finally, he just felt… relieved. Being in Takeru's arms felt so… relaxing, like eventually, it'd be alright. He was so warm and… Hades couldn't quite pinpoint how he felt. It was like coming back home after a long, long journey.

"Why did you kiss me at the infirmary?" Hades quietly asked. "I mean… why did you lie afterward?"

"I thought it'd be better like that. I told you, I was sure you didn't like me. And I thought you only accepted me doing this kind of stuff because you needed someone to care about you" He explained.

"I would have stopped you. I mean, I did try, but not because I don't like you. Because I don't deserve you" Hades finished in a whisper, closing his eyes.

Takeru didn't quite know what to say. On one side, he wanted to deny that. Hades deserved happiness, and he hoped he could bring that to him. Hades deserved the world after what had happened to him. Being cast away to the underworld, without people visiting you must be extremely hard on a person's moral. Years of loneliness made Hades what he was today. So considering that, he understood why he felt like he didn't deserve him.

Even though Takeru had his lot of sadness in the past, he hadn't lived quite as long as Hades had. And even then, he hadn't been completely alone. His brother had been there for him. He had had people to help him. Not many, but still. Hades had no one, from what Apollon told them. He had been alone for so long…

Takeru kissed the top of Hades' head "It's okay. Someday you'll see that you do deserve me"

Hades stayed silent, but hugged Takeru's waist tighter. A few hours passed without any of them moving. It was dark outside, and the interrupter was too far for Takeru to reach, so they were completely enveloped by darkness.

Since they hadn't shared a word, nor move, the Japanese god suspected Hades to be asleep, though he wasn't completely sure about that. He didn't dare move, in case he was actually asleep, and he woke him up. Hades obviously needed sleep, just as much as he needed food.

Takeru was hungry too. He hadn't eaten in a pretty long time, and it was getting late… Takeru wondered if he could reach the sandwich he had left next to the bed. Slowly reaching out for it, he tried to make as little movement as possible. Unfortunately, he lost his balance, and Hades started moving in his sleep, stirring awake.

"Shhh, go back to sleep; it's okay" he whispered quickly, trying to sit back in the same position as before.

Hades' head rose sleepily as he tried to chase the drowsiness from his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked at Takeru, who couldn't resist but push the hair out of his face. Two eyes the color of garnet stared back at him, except one was enveloped in black. It was, yes, scary sight, but a very, very interesting one… and Takeru wished he could look at it for hours.

"I didn't mean to wake you up"

"I wasn't asleep" Hades whispered back as he rolled over to the other side of the bed, ready to go back to sleep.

"Hey, I know you're tired but… you should eat something"

Hades groaned, so the younger god gave up. He got up and went to get the sandwich he had left. He ate half of it, and left the rest in the plate, in case Hades' changed his mind.

He stood in the middle of the room for a few minutes, not sure what to do. Should he just sleep here? Or go back to his own dorm? Should he at least contact his brother…? He doubted Tsukito was really worried about him, and he was probably busy looking at the moon. Deciding on staying to take care of his boyfriend, the sea god laid back on the bed, curling up against Hades' back. He fell asleep in no time, a small smile on his lips.

* * *

 **Author's note: They've been in love for a while, and this story isn't about them falling in love so... sorry if you think this is rushed .-.**

 **Also thanks to dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta as always!**


	5. Chapter 5

The morning light entered the room, painting it in yellow. Takeru cracked an eye open. What time was it? Looking around the room, Takeru didn't see a clock. He then tried to get up, only to be stopped by an arm around his waist, weakly hugging him. The god slowly turned around and faced Hades, who was fast asleep. He looked so peaceful, so… calm, and maybe even happy, that Takeru stopped breathing, scared he would break that beautiful moment.

Looking at his sleeping boyfriend, Takeru couldn't help but smile. It's all he wanted to do right now. He was so happy, and he wondered why he didn't confess to Hades earlier. Maybe it would have been less painful for everyone. Yet… it never had felt like the right moment, and there was the whole thing with Kusanagi.

"σὲ… ἀγαπῶ." Hades mumbled in his sleep, hugging Takeru closer.

What had he just said? It sounded like... se agapo? Was that what he had said? Whatever that meant, Hades repeated it again.

"Tak…keru… σὲ… ἀγαπῶ." this time he added his boyfriend's name.

Now the boy sure hoped that wasn't an insult. Maybe he'd ask Hades when he wake up... actually, thinking about it, asking Apollon or Dionysus would be a bit weird, whatever that meant, and forget about asking Zeus. That would be more than awkward. He was pretty sure it was Greek, as it sounded like something Apollon said, once upon a club activity night where they were studying the night sky.

Hades slowly opened his eyes. His gaze immediately met Takeru's, who smiled lovingly at the man. He gave him a small peck on the lips and hugged him.

"Good morning."

"…morning." Hades grumpily replied.

Takeru decided to give Hades a few minutes before questioning him on the meaning of those words he had pronounced during his sleep. To his surprise, Hades hugged him closer and sighed.

"What time is it?" he mumbled against his neck.

"I don't know, I haven't found your clock"

Hades stayed silent for a moment "It must still be early, if Apollon hasn't walked in yet to wake me up"

"Maybe he doesn't dare come in."

"Oh, I wouldn't think so. He probably doesn't know you're here. Even if he did, he'd still walk in like it's nothing."

"Well, at least we're fully dressed"

A small smile appeared on Hades face. "Yeah..."

"It could change."

"It depends on what time it is."

Hades sighed and reached out for his night table. His hand searched for something for a moment, and finally grabbed a watch. He looked at the time on it.

"It's 6:30." he said, letting go of the watch and going back to his original position.

Takeru nodded. He did want to do some…things to Hades, but before he needed to know what he had said in his sleep.

"Hey, you know you talk in your sleep?"

"Maybe." the god mumbled. "What did I say?"

"Something like… se agapo I think? And my name too. What does it mean anyway?"

Hades' cheek turned pink "It… it means 'I love you' in Greek…"

"Oh" was all Takeru found to say.

There was an awkward silence, where none of them dared speak. Hades was embarrassed that he had sleep-talked, and Takeru was dumbfounded by the fact Hades had told him 'I love you' in his mother tongue.

"I love you too." the sea god broke the silence.

For some reason, this sparked something inside of Hades' brain, and the man kissed his new boyfriend passionately on the lips, his hands now holding Takeru's face in a gentle manner. Surprised, it took the boy a few seconds before he started kissing back.

Quickly, Hades took the lead. He forced Takeru to lay down on his back while he kept kissing him messily, his hand in the boy's hair. He kissed his neck and his collarbone, biting at the skin. He started undoing the boy's shirt, completely absorbed by his action.

"Uncle, breakfast is- oh my gods I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" Apollon interrupted, covering his eyes in a childish manner.

"Close the door!" Hades yelled, turning around rapidly.

"I'm sorry, I really am!" Apollon repeated as he closed the door "It's… time to get up, uncle."

"I noticed." Hades grumbled.

He let himself fall on top of Takeru, groaning his discontent. Takeru started laughing, surprising Hades. Slowly, he started laughing too, a bit more gently than his boyfriend.

"I haven't heard you laugh in so long." Takeru commented after a moment.

"I didn't have a reason to. It…does feel good" he admitted.

They stayed like that for a moment, and Takeru was hoping Hades would restart what they had been doing, but he did none of that. Instead, he got up and looked at his clothes in his pantry.

"Wait no, you can't do that to me?" the Japanese god said.

"Do what?" Hades replied, puzzled.

"Make me horny and then not continuing!"

Hades gave a small smile, finished dressing up and left the room. Frustrated, Takeru took a moment before deciding on getting up. He wasn't hard… at least, not really. Just really in the mood.

Since he didn't have any spare clothes, he just made sure he looked alright and left the room. He said goodbye to the three Greeks sitting in the kitchen, and went home to get changed.

In his bathroom, Takeru looked at himself in the mirror, trying to see if Hades had left any marks earlier. He found himself smiling like an idiot. How could it have happened? All this felt like a stupid dream, something that would never happen, just yesterday morning. But seeing Hades sitting down in his bathroom, crying so hard, it made his heart ache. And then they kissed. They actually did. That was… wow.

"Totsuka Takeru."

The boy jumped and made some of the stuff in front of him fall to the ground.

"Bro! H-How are you?" he stuttered as he picked up the things.

"I am fine. Where were you last night?"

"I was… I was with Hades, at the Greek's dorm."

"Why?"

"Because he, uh, needed comfort and asked me to stay and I accidently fell asleep there?" he tried.

Fortunately for him, this answer seemed to satisfy his big brother's curiosity. A sigh of relief left his lips when Tsukito walked back to where he was coming from. He turned back around and looked at his reflection.

His hair were down and wet from the shower he had taken. There were small bite mark around his collarbone, barely visible unless you stared for a long moment. He wished Apollon hadn't walked in on them this morning, as right now he wanted to touch himself real bad. He didn't have much time though, and he hoped he would stop feeling like that by the end of the day.

Once he was fully dressed and his hair were done, he walked back to the kitchen, grabbed something to eat and sat down with his brother. They ate in silence, much to Takeru's relief, who wasn't sure he could talk about his relationship yet…

Back at the Greek's dorm, Hades and his nephews were silently eating. Apollon was still flushed and didn't dare look at his uncle, and Dionysus was wondering what had happened. As Hades finished his small breakfast, Apollon finally decided to speak.

"I'm really sorry Uncle, I didn't know. I really didn't."

"I know. I'm not mad." the older god said as he stood up, walking toward the kitchen.

"What happened?" Dionysus dared ask, tired of being left in the dark.

"I walked in on uncle and Takeru doing...stuff." Apollon muttered in his cup of tea.

"Stuff…?"

"We were just kissing for Gaea's sake!" Hades let out as he dropped his plate in the sink.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat? You and Takeru? Really? Since when?"

Hades' face turned a bright red color. Shit. He didn't want everyone to know they were dating. At least, not yet. He wasn't sure this whole dating idea was a good thing, and he didn't want people to be hurt, and he didn't want to feel forced to stay with Takeru, even though it would hurt the boy… he was pretty confused regarding his feeling toward him dating the Japanese god, even if he loved him to no end.

"Since yesterday. Don't talk about this to the others." Hades sighed as he put away the now clean dish.

"But it's a good thing uncle! Why can't we tell the others? It's not bad."

"Because you two were not even supposed to know. If I learn someone else knows, I'm sending Cerberus after the both of you." Hades finished and left the dorm, his nephews looking at him in terror.

Cerberus was nice and kind and all… unless Hades told him to chase down someone. Imagine having a gigantic, three headed dog, running toward you, and all fangs out. That's not something you can survive.

Even though he had said it, Hades would never do such a thing to his nephews. He at least hoped the threat would scare them enough that they wouldn't even open their mouth, just in case…

With a small smile, he left the dorm for the school, going toward the astronomy club's room.

It was early, so school was fairly empty, spare for a few students hanging out here and there. Hades slowly walked toward the Astronomy club room. He felt good today, a lot better than he had in a long time.

Once in the classroom, Hades put down his bag. Books had been left on tables, the star map they had used the day before was still out. With a sigh, Hades started cleaning up, putting the books back on the shelves, folded the map and put the chairs back under the desks. As he put the last chair back in place, he heard the door opening. Turning around, he saw Takeru entering the class.

"I thought I'd find you here." he commented as he closed the door.

"Someone has to clean up after you all, since you don't do it."

"In my defense, I left with you yesterday, so ground Apollon and Dionysus." Takeru shrugged as he walked toward Hades.

On his tiptoes, he gave a small, shy peck on the lips, like he was uncertain he could do that. Hades tried hard not to laugh and leaned down to properly kiss Takeru. Slightly surprised, it took the Japanese god a few seconds to kiss him back. He deepened the kiss, passing his hand around Hades' neck. Their embrace lasted for a few minutes.

They parted briefly, but Takeru wasn't done. He wanted revenge for what had happened in the morning. He forced Hades to back up until his butt was against the desk. Takeru made his boyfriend sit down on it, making it easier for him to kiss him. Grabbing the collar, he started kissing him again, more wildly than their first one. He pressed himself against the Greek god.

Steps and voices were heard just outside the room. Takeru backed up quickly, a smirk on his face as he saw Hades' red face. Their friends entered the room a second after.

"Good morning Takeru-san! Hades-san!" Yui happily said.

"Good morning, Weed," Takeru greeted her, "So have you all decided when we're going stargazing?"

"We were going to ask uncle, actually." Dionysus said as he sat down on his usual chair.

"Are you alright, uncle? You don't look really good… are you okay?" Apollon worried.

Takeru half-smiled, but stopped when he saw Apollon's face properly. The guy had bags under his eyes and looked paler than usual. Maybe he caught something… they should be worrying about him, not Hades!

"I'm… I'm fine don't worry" Hades mumbled, replacing his uniform properly, a quick "why have you done this" look thrown at Takeru.

"The ideal would be soon, as I have a feeling Zeus will change the weather in at the most a week. We could… we could do it next week-end." The god suggested.

"Hmhm! That sounds really good! Good idea uncle!" Apollon said cheerfully.

Takeru put Apollon's sick look on the fact it had been rainy in the past few days. Him being the sun god, it must affect him. Shrugging it off, he turned his attention back to his boyfriend.

Hades had taken back his confidence. He was standing straight, his head high, looking a bit more confident. For a brief moment, Takeru thought that just maybe, he was finally saved and everything was back to normal.

The rest of the reunion went well, and finally it was time for classes. The day went fairly well. It finally felt like old times. Loki played tricks on everyone, Balder fell (twice, in fact), and so on. Everyone was okay…except for Apollon, who had fallen asleep on his desk. Takeru took it upon himself to wake him up.

"Oi, Apollon" he whispered, leaning toward the boy's desk "Wake up or Thoth's gonna hit you"

Apollon stayed asleep, grumbling something the Japanese god didn't understand. With a slight pout, Takeru leaned forward more and slightly pushed his shoulder, calling his name again, in vain.

"Damn it, wake up!" he whispered loudly, pushing the boy harder.

Just as Apollon jerked awake, Takeru was hit by a piece of white chalk. He turned around and saw Thoth looking at him, obviously mad at him.

"If you are coming to my classes only to make trouble, Totsuka, I'd ask you to stay out of it"

"Yes, sorry Thoth-sama..." he grumbled, sitting back on his chair properly.

Thoth started talking again. Normally, Takeru would have made a scene and reply something to Thoth, but he was sort of worried for Apollon. They guy was now awake, but he seemed even more tired than in the morning. Takeru continued taking notes, checking Apollon out every once in a while.

Dionysus had seen the whole scene. The others only had seen what was going on when Thoth intervened, but the god of wine had seen it. He was also worried for his brother, who was lacking sleep. He knew the boy would wake up every night and go check on his uncle, to see if he was still in his bedroom, and alive. He was so worried about Hades…

The first few days, Apollon would even camp outside the god's bedroom. Dionysus would tell him to go to his own room, but the boy wouldn't move. Finally, his brother got him to go to his room by telling him if Hades found him there, he would feel horrible for making him worry this much and sleeping so badly. Agreeing it would be bad, Apollon slept in his bed, but every night he would wake up to check if Hades was still in the house.

Hades didn't know any of this. The only one knowing was Yui, as Dionysus had asked her some advices, but neither of them found a way to help Apollon.

The bell rang, announcing the end of classes. Hades sighed. It was time for club activities, but his energy was very low. He didn't feel like going at all. He'd rather go home and curl up in his bed with Takeru. They still hadn't talked about telling the others…

"Hades-san! Shall we go to the club room?" Yui said enthusiastically.

He nodded, not having the heart to break her enthusiasm.

They waited for the others and all left for their clubroom. Apollon acted cheerfully, but Takeru still saw just how tired the guy was. He wondered if the weather was really what affected him, or if it was another factor, of maybe a mix of both? They weren't exactly close, but he had seen his brother and Apollon talking a lot together. Maybe Tsukito knew something.

Club activities went relatively well. They planned their stargazing event that would take place during the week-end. This time, Hades stayed for the whole reunion. He did seem to be tired, but also enjoying himself. And he was. Stars were his favorite subject, and sharing it with others was something he loved, even in his current state of mind.

They closed their meeting by deciding to meet again the next day, to decide where they should do it. Apollon left first, followed by Dionysus after they made sure Takeru would stay with Hades. No one wanted to leave the older god alone yet. Yui helped them clean up a bit, but was forced to leave them alone when Thoth came to get her, so he could talk about some secret stuff.

Finally alone, the new couple took a break and sat down in their chairs, looking at the ceiling.

"That was quite an exhausting day." Hades commented.

"Talk for you. I'm still full of energy. I'll probably go run later." Takeru replied with a yawn.

"Hey, Takeru… did you tell anyone we were dating?" the Greek god asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No. Not even to my brother. I didn't know if… if you wanted to tell it to the others."

"Maybe someday, but not for now. My nephews know because Apollon walked in on us this morning, and he told Dionysus. I did tell them not to announce it to anyone else."

"Good then. Want to come to my dorm tonight?"

Hades let out a sigh. "I'm not allowed. I have to be back in my room at a certain time. I feel so controlled right now."

"You know-" Takeru started saying, but his boyfriend cut him short.

"Yes, it's for my own good, because of what happened and all. But I can't go stargazing alone anymore and that's pretty bothersome."

"I know it's not alone but I could go with you."

"You don't have to."

"No but I want to."

"We'll see. I'm tired, I'm going back home."

Hades rose to his feet, took his bag and left, quickly followed by Takeru. They walked together toward the dorms, resisting the urge to hold hands. If they wanted to stay secretive, they had to make sure no one would see them, and out in the open like that, it would be hard.

They parted ways at the dorm, without having exchanged a goodbye kiss, even if they were dying to do so. They also spent the night separated, and only met again in the morning.

* * *

 **Author's note: Alright at first, it was supposed to be a smut scene but I didn't want to write it anymore so... that's why Apollon just walked in.**

 **Thanks again and forever to dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta! a lot of final points would be missing apparently... hehe**


	6. Chapter 6

**This took so long... I am truly sorry, but my finals started and I had a bunch of papers to hand in and many, many projects to do, and I mostly took the time I had to draw because that's what helps me when I'm stressed. But enough with the blahblah.**

 **Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter! especially the smut part. that took so much time to write lol.**

 **As always, many thanks to dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta! y'all should check out her stories they are fabulous!**

 **Anyway I'm done rambling! Reviews are very appreciated :)**

* * *

Things were starting to be… hard.

Trying to keep their relationship a secret wasn't simple. They were running out of excuses to be at one of their dorms, together, and in the same bedroom. Homework was sometimes the reason, other times it was club things. Three days passed, and the others started seriously questioning their whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Apollon still looked horrible. Takeru had questioned his brother about it, but Tsukito wouldn't answer his questions. He stayed silent and stared at something on the ground. Takeru thought his brother's reaction was weird. He wasn't the kind to hide stuff.

Since no one would help him out, and he didn't want to make Hades worry, he took Apollon apart after classes, while the others walked to the clubroom.

"I need help to bring books back from the library" he explained.

Before Hades could propose to go too, Dionysus took his arm and forced him to go to the room. Takeru and Apollon walked to the library together. The sun god tried to make small talk and act cheerfully, but Takeru wasn't fooled.

"You know, if the fact we haven't seen the sun a lot recently is what makes you so tired, I can try to chase the clouds" he proposed, halfway to the library.

"But then you would be hit by lightning because of my father. I don't want you being hit by lightning. It'd be my fault! I'm fine, really" Apollon replied, smiling.

"You look like a corpse"

Apollon stopped walking and looked out the window. His façade had fell, and he looked even worse than usual. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked almost as pale as Hades'. He also seemed somewhat thinner.

"You're worried about Hades? Is that it?" Takeru asked, turning around to face the boy.

"Yes" he whispered.

It was strange to see him look so… sad! They were all so used to seeing Apollon being the cheerful guy, always smiling and laughing and fooling around… seeing him this worried and saddened by his uncle's condition made Takeru feel empathy for the guy. He cared so much…

"I… I've been getting up every nights to see if he's still in his bedroom" Apollon confessed, and a small, bitter laugh left his lips. "The first few days after it happened, I camped outside his bedroom to make sure he wouldn't get out. Dionysus told me to go to bed countless times, but I couldn't… I couldn't bring myself to leave Hades' door. I was so scared he would leave me too… But Dionysus reasoned me. Of course, if uncle found me in front of his room, he'd feel bad. He'd feel bad he made me worry so much I would lose sleep. I've been sleeping in my bed, but I will wake up very often to check on him…"

Takeru was astonished by the sun god's confession. A small, sad smile floated on Apollon's lips. His way of speech had changed too, during this little exchange. He, who normally repeated twice what he had said hadn't done it this time. He had called his brother Dionysus instead of Dee-Dee. It truly felt strange and out of place, but considering the situation, Takeru sort of understood.

"So this is what my brother wouldn't tell me."

Apollon violently blushed, making Takeru smile "I- I haven't said anything to- to Tsuki-Tsuki!"

"Your face tells me otherwise. Look, you and the drunkard are the only one knowing the secret. I'll look after Hades at night, you can sleep soundly. And if you need to leave your dorm to get some proper sleep, you can go sleep with my bro."

"Did he- did he tell you we were dating? Did Tsuki-Tsuki tell you?"

A large smile spread on Takeru's face "No, but you just did! Oh, I knew it!"

"Don't tell anyone! Or I'm telling _your_ secret! I will tell it to the others!" Apollon threatened the other god.

"Start by getting some rest first, then we'll see."

"Thank you, Takeru. I really mean it. Take good care of my uncle, alright? You will take good care of him?"

"That's already what I planned to do. Don't worry, he's in good hands"

They walked back to the club room, Apollon feeling much better, even though he still seemed exhausted. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He knew Takeru had been sleeping with his uncle for a few days, but he still couldn't help worry. Now having the confirmation through words that his friend was looking after the man, he felt much better.

* * *

"Where are your books?" Dionysus asked the second the two gods walked in the class.

"We didn't find what we were looking for." Takeru promptly replied.

He had actually forgotten he had given that reason to get to talk with Apollon one on one…

They continued planning the stargazing event. The atmosphere was a lot lighter than it had been in the past days. Now, it actually felt like before the events of the past weeks. Hades seemed like his usual self, happy to share his knowledge of the night sky, Apollon cutting him at any moment to ask some question, Dionysus and Yui listening and Takeru… Takeru actually just enjoying the moment. If he had been against the idea of attending this stupid school, now he couldn't help but think it might have been the best thing that happened to him in centuries.

They concluded their reunion by fixing one last meeting the day before the event. Takeru decided to head for the Greek dorm with Hades and Dionysus while Apollon went to the Japanese dorm, deciding it'd be better to sleep far from his uncle, somewhere he wouldn't be tempted to get up and go check on him, especially if Tsukito was, by pure coincidence, sleeping in his arms. He wouldn't want to wake the boy up… even if Tsukito usually watched the moon at night. Then he would be there to stop him from going.

Inside the Greek's dorm, Takeru was sitting at the table while Hades and Dionysus prepared food. They could eat at the cafeteria, but from time to time the gods preferred making their own food.

"You know" Dionysus started as he cut some carrots "the others are seriously suspecting stuff. Like, they're pretty sure something is going on between the two of you, and soon it won't even be a secret anymore"

"It's a secret until we actually make the announcement" Hades replied.

"Do you even plan to make it before graduation?"

The older god stayed silent. After graduation… they would all be separated, unless they didn't graduate.

A look at Takeru made him sure they all had to. His friends… he wouldn't bear it if they were to fail. He'd help them all, but if he saw he was making them all fail, he'd ask his brother to send him back to his palace and let Yui and the others go on without him. That was the only way to save everyone from his misfortune.

"We'll make it eventually" Takeru added.

In a way, he was pretty sure he knew what went on inside of Hades' brain, and he was against it. He wasn't about to let him go, oh no. Unfortunately for him, the god of the underworld was stuck with his boyfriend forever, since death might not even separate them.

"Yeah, like he said" Hades grumbled.

They changed subject, although it was now mostly Dionysus and Takeru chatting. After dinner, Hades declared he was tired and was going to bed, even though it was fairly early. Takeru silently followed him upstairs and inside the bedroom, where his boyfriend had let himself fall on top of the bed, face first in his pillow. Takeru closed the door.

They hadn't been really alone since the day they had started dating. In the past few days, when they hung out, there was always something disturbing them, and Hades ended up falling asleep before Takeru could initiate anything. But right now… it was early. Knowing the man, he doubted he'd go to sleep right away. Now was his chance.

The sea god laid down on Hades' back and started playing with his hair. The man sighed and closed his eyes. As much as he was enjoying the feeling, he was also building up the courage to tell Takeru they couldn't go on any longer…

Not knowing what was going on in his boyfriend's head, Takeru started pressing kisses on his neck. His hand left his hair and slid down to the end of Hades' shirt, going down under it and gently tickling the skin.

The Greek god's eyes opened wide, and he forced Takeru to move so he could turn and sit up. He looked the younger god straight in the eyes and resisted the urge to caress his cheek and kiss him.

"Takeru we- we can't- "

"I swear to every gods that if you say we can't be together because of your fucking misfortune or whatever other reasons you want to give, I'm throwing you out the window."

"B-but…"

Takeru tackled Hades, making him fall on the bed. He sat on top of him, his knees resting on the bed each side of his boyfriend's body. Hades felt his face heat up. Oh gods. _Oh gods he was so close…_

"Y-You don't understand, you could get really hurt!" He protested some more.

To make him shut up, the sea god leaned down and pressed a kiss on Hades' lips. He wanted it to be cute and a proper kiss, but it was more like crashed lips against Hades' mouth, and pretty messy too. He sat back up, rubbing his nose who had apparently tried to kiss Hades' too. The Greek god looked at him, surprised. They stared for a few seconds, until Hades started to laugh. It was a genuine laugh, a happy laugh that Takeru hadn't heard in months.

Hades looked at him and started laughing even harder. The face his boyfriend was making! He was _so_ shocked by the laugh! The older one couldn't help it. It was way too funny. As much as he wanted to push him away, he couldn't deny Takeru definitely made him feel better. He was his little ray of sun. His little storm god was his sunshine during these dark days.

"I love you, Takeru… I'm sorry. I… I'll try not to push you away anymore" he whispered, a smile on his lips.

"I- I love you too, but… what just happened exactly? I think I missed a few minutes" Takeru said, completely confused.

"Come here" Hades whispered, opening his arms.

Takeru slowly laid down on top of Hades, his head resting on the man's chest. He could hear his heart beat strongly. The Greek god closed his arm around his boyfriend, imprisoning him.

"At this point, my heart is beating only for you. I love you. I just… don't want you to get hurt. You almost did, and if- if I hadn't seen the shelves move in time, you would have gotten hurt that time…"

"But instead you did! That's no better!" Takeru replied bitterly "I understand you don't want me to feel your misfortune, but I can take care of myself."

"If I can save you from wounds, I will, Takeru, whether you like it or not. I'm used to the pain anyway…"

"Hades…"

Takeru looked up, his eyes meeting Hades'. The man was still smiling softly at him, one of his hand playing with Takeru's hair. Slowly, he leaned down again and pressed a gentle kiss to Hades' lips. Quickly, Hades made Takeru fall on his bed, inverting their position. He was now on top of the boy, deepening their kiss.

The sea god forced him to stop for a moment, and he looked at the door.

"What are you doing?" Hades mumbled as he tried to kiss him again.

"Making sure Apollon isn't about to walk in" Takeru smiled.

"You fish head, I know you locked the door" Hades sighed as he forced Takeru to look at him again.

They started kissing again, despite Takeru laughing at being called "fish head". As Hades' kisses got more intense, the boy stopped giggling as it was getting hard to breathe between laughs and kisses.

Hades started undressing his boyfriend, his hands going under his shirt and caressing his abs. The sea god shivered at the soft touch. He wished Hades would hurry, but at the same time it was quite pleasing… all the teasing was pretty… arousing.

The Greek god bit his boyfriend's neck gently, barely leaving a mark. As he undid his shirt, he left a kiss on the freshly exposed skin, slowly trailing down. Finally, Takeru's torso was completely exposed, and his cheeks were bright red. He rarely bottomed before, even though he liked to touch himself behind when masturbating. But his strong personality generally lead him to top when he found himself sleeping with men. Yet with Hades… it was something else.

Hades went back up, taking possession of Takeru's lips again, confusing the boy. What in all heaven was he doing… _oh._

Hades had grasped Takeru's cock through the boy's pants. He gently squeezed it, and the sea god's eye opened wide as he moaned against his boyfriend's lips. Hades couldn't help but smile. He repeated the action as Takeru melted underneath him, eyes closed and lips slightly parted.

The Greek god undid his lover's trousers and pulled them down as his tongue started playing with Takeru's. At the same time, Hades' hand started stroking the younger god's dick through the fabric of his underwear. He moved his lips away from the boy's so he could kiss his neck tenderly before biting it harder than before, slightly sucking at the soft skin.

Takeru gasped as his back arched slightly. It felt so good but… uh why didn't Hades just got on with it, damn it! He was taking all his sweet time while Takeru was suffering under his lovely, sweet touch…

"Hades… please" He pleaded as the man was playing with his nipples, teasing him relentlessly.

"Please what?" Hades smiled against his boyfriend's nipple, right before sucking it again.

"Pl-please stop teasing me!" Takeru begged, eyes half closed.

"Hmmm alright…" he whispered back.

Hades finally removed Takeru's underwear, discarding them to the ground, only to found himself before the god's erected penis. He turned his gaze to look at Takeru's red face, smiling mischievously at him.

"How do you want me to take you, Take?"

"I don't care just… do something." Takeru pouted, looking to his right.

Hades nodded and started stroking his lover's cock again, only to put the head of the shaft in his mouth a few seconds after. He gently sucked on it as he swallowed more of it in his mouth. Strangled moans and gasps escaped Takeru's lips as his back arched a little more every time Hades sucked or licked him, taking him to heaven for a brief moment. When his boyfriend stop, he looked up, confused as to why he had sat up.

"Turn around" Hades ordered.

"Why?" Takeru asked as he did what he was asked anyway.

"You'll see… or feel, I should say" the Greek god smiled again.

He made Takeru stand on all four, legs wide enough to give him a good access to his hole. He crouched behind him and kissed the opening, licking it before sucking it.

"Wah- Ha-Hades-!"

The younger god squeezed the bed sheets with his hand as Hades kept eating him behind. It felt oh so good after all the teasing, and yet he wished Hades would start giving him a hand job at the same time, but his hands were on his ass, keeping the butt cheeks apart. As Hades licks became quicker and harder, it became unbearable. Takeru's hand went under him and he started masturbating himself at the same time.

His legs were shaking as he moaned in the pillow, unable to think straight anymore. How he had wished for this to happen goodness… His mind was overwhelmed by the amazing feeling of Hades' tongue against his rim, his mouth biting at his butt cheek, his hand squeezing them gently…

He came moaning his lover's name. His legs gave in and he found himself laying on his belly on the bed, panting hard. Oh _dear lord_.

Hades removed his shirt and laid down on Takeru's back, kissing his neck again, the bulge in his pants pressed against the younger boy's behind. He liked taking things slowly and teasing his lover a lot, unlike Takeru who liked it when things were rougher and not as much teasing as Hades liked to do… even if the Japanese god had to admit it was pretty arousing.

Desire flared up again in him as he felt Hades' cock pressed against him. He turned around so he would be face to face with Hades and started kissing him again, his hands going straight for his hair.

They kissed for a long time, as Hades started to remove his own trousers and underwear, the pressure now unbearable. He forced Takeru to lay back on his back as he reached for something in his nightstand. He got out a tube of lube, and Takeru couldn't help but smile.

"How come you have this?"

"I… just in case" Hades mumbled as he squeezed the lube in his hand and started rubbing it on his shaft. "Stop smiling like that!"

"Why?" the boy laughed.

"It annoys me"

Hades bent down to kiss him before Takeru could reply again. The Greek god started preparing his boyfriend, doing the job fairly quick as his tongue had helped loosen him up earlier. Once he considered it to be enough, and unable to wait any longer, he positioned himself and entered the younger god. A gasp escaped Takeru's lips as he felt the member enter him.

It wasn't quite what he had envisioned. Hades might feel bigger than he thought he would. Tears filled up his eyes as Hades inserted himself more. Seeing that, the older god started kissing him on the neck, biting at the skin in an attempt to make him forget the pain as he got used to the feeling of having him in. He played with his nipples and kissed him passionately. As much as he was impatient, he didn't want Takeru feeling uncomfortable.

"Tell me when you think it's fine for me to move" he whispered to the god's ear.

Takeru nodded. He hugged Hades closer as the man kept kissing him lovingly everywhere he could. As the pain subsided, he started kissing Hades back, biting at his shoulder. His fingers were tangled in his lover's hair, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. He whispered the word "okay" into Hades' ears.

Hades started to move, setting a slow pace. Takeru choked back a sob as he hugged his boyfriend even more. It did hurt a lot… but at the same time it _did_ feel sort of good. The mix of the pain with the good feeling of having Hades inside of him… it was hard to explain.

As Hades' pace quickened a little, Takeru moaned loudly next to his ear. Now this is what he hoped to feel. He felt complete bliss as his boyfriend thrust into him, something he had imagined so many times while touching himself at night… and now it was actually happening.

Hades groaned against Takeru's skin. It just felt _so good_ and he had to resist the urge to go faster. He was slowly losing himself too to the feeling. He barely felt it when Takeru's finger nail dig into the skin of his back out of pleasure, leaving bloody crescents. The gasps, the moans and the purrs coming from the younger god only encouraged him to give in and quicken his pace. He wanted to feel every part of Takeru…

He remembered the scene in the infirmary and how good it had felt when the Japanese god had started stroking his member as he fucked him. He reached down and started doing the same, supporting himself with his other arm. He started by stroking Takeru's penis gently, but went faster as strangled moans left the boy's lips. It was so hot…

His back arched at the feeling of both Hades' hand around him and his lover's cock deep inside of him, Takeru was slowly losing it. Oh why did he wait so long to confess… Hades started kissing him again as Takeru felt he was on the edge of coming. He started moaning Hades' name as his lips were still pressed against his lover's. Takeru came, grasping at Hades hair' and moaning his name loudly, quickly followed by the Greek god who couldn't resist as he felt his lover's muscle clench around him. Good fucking lord…

The older god let himself fall on top of Takeru, panting hard too, but still managing to press kisses to his cheek and jaw. After a few minutes, Takeru started laughing uncontrollably as Hades pulled out and fell next to him.

"What's so funny?" he mumbled, suddenly tired.

"It's not funny; I'm just… happy. I love you, 'des" Takeru whispered back as he turned around to bury his face in Hades' chest. "My legs feel numb, though"

"About that… you might not want to get up tomorrow" Hades admitted as he hugged him closer "We should probably also go take a shower…"

"Hmm. No. I'm too comfortable like this."

They stayed silent for a moment as Hades simply enjoyed the feeling of having Takeru in his arms. It was really comforting.

"We really should- " the Greek god started, only to realize Takeru had fallen asleep in his arms, snoring gently.

He sighed and smiled. They were a mess, but the shower would have to wait for the morning to come. He pressed a gentle kiss to Takeru's forehead and slowly drifted to sleep too.


	7. Chapter 7

**A little bit late, though I thought I would be able to post it before christmas!**

 **There are only 3 more chapters to this, because I got one more idea to use, then it's the ending**

 **Also: wikipedia is my friend, I checked twice the info about the star that are mentioned later in.**

 **And as always, I'll never say it enough but thanks dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta~~~**

 **alright. have this happy chapter :3**

* * *

Finally, the day had come for the stargazing event. Hades was standing outside the school, his backpack on ground. The others were late, and he was slightly mad. The road to the spot they had chosen was fairly long, and they didn't have much time. If they didn't leave soon, they wouldn't get there before it gets dark.

Sighing heavily, Hades looked around. Where were they all anyway? It wasn't Takeru's or Yui's kind to be late. Apollon and Dionysus were... discussable on that matter. They weren't quite late in general, but they weren't the most punctual.

Finally, as he was about to abandon them and start the journey by himself, because nothing was going to stop him from going stargazing, he heard his name being called behind him. He turned around and saw Takeru running out of the school building, his brother on his trail.

"Sorry we're late! I wanted to invite my brother, but couldn't find him. That's alright, right?" Takeru spoke quickly as he tried to put an arm around his boyfriend's shoulder, despite their height difference.

"It's fine I guess… the more the merrier" Hades tried to sound positive, although he sort of was against the idea of bringing more people.

But Tsukito wasn't the most talkative of them, so he wouldn't be a problem. And well, if he planned on staying with Takeru, Hades had to get used to him, since the two brothers were very close. And anyway, Tsukito was dating Apollon apparently. He was doomed to seeing him a lot in the end.

"Hades! Takeru!" they heard another voice, this time coming from the direction of the dorms.

They turned around at the same time to see Yui, with the Norse on her trail. To Hades dismay, they all had a backpack too.

"Sorry I took so long! I asked Balder, Loki and Thor if they wanted to come!" she smiled as she reached them. "I hope it's alright! After all, the more-"

"The merrier, yes I know" Hades smiled at her, skillfully hiding his uneasiness.

"Hey Mr. Death, where are A-Fool-on and the drunk hmm?" Loki asked as he let his bag fall to his feet.

"I don't know, I was not with them"

"We're here! We're right here!" they heard the sun god yelling from the school building.

He was followed by his brother and, against all odds, Thoth himself. The man didn't look too happy about being forced out of the school. Hades wondered if he was here to warn them against something, until he saw his bundle slung over his shoulder. Was he really coming too?!

"I asked Professor Thoth to come with us! Uncle knows a lot, but maybe we can learn more from him! It'd be nice to know more about the stars!" Apollon happily explained.

"I was _forced_ to follow the idiot."

"You weren't forced, Professor. You were tempted by corn." Dionysus said as he walked up to them.

"Whatever! Let's go before I change my mind completely."

Thoth started walking in a random direction, clearly annoyed. Hades glanced at Yui and tried not to laugh. He was going in the opposite direction they were supposed to go.

"Professor Thoth, the place we picked for the event is this way…" Yui called after him.

The god of knowledge stopped in his track, took a moment, and finally around and started walking in the right direction, mumbling something about "knowing that" and "just testing them", making the others laugh.

And so, the group started their journey through forests and mountains to get to this special place where the sky was clear. Hades walked behind, alone, looking at his friends' back. They all seemed so happy, and although he was saddened they were a lot more than originally planned, he would lie if he said it didn't warm his heart to see all of them enjoying themselves. Even Thoth, who glared at them, seemed to enjoy himself when he thought no one was looking.

Halfway to the spot, Yui joined Hades and walked beside him. She didn't speak at first, and observed the others for a little moment. They hadn't had a real talk alone since that time, and Hades always felt a bit awkward being alone around her. He felt bad for worrying her so much, and yet he still didn't regret his choice. He was far from how he felt back then, but sometimes it was still tempting to jump back in the river.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I'd ask the others to come"

"I'm not mad"

Another moment of silence passed. Hades just didn't know what to tell her. He wanted to say sorry, and yet the words wouldn't leave his mouth. And just when he believed he would be able to say something, she spoke first.

"I'm sorry that I didn't help you before you… before you tried to jump" She whispered, looking straight in front of her. "I just… thought you needed some space. I should have been there for you. I'm sorry"

Hades stopped in his track, grabbed her wrist and spun her around and into a hug.

"Please don't be sorry, Yui. It was never your fault and it will never be. And I'm better now. Really" he whispered with a smile on his face. "I am sorry I jumped. I didn't want to make you worry"

She hugged him back, burrowing her face in his chest. He heard her sob slightly, and he hugged her closer. He was glad this was settled. He loved Yui dearly, and she had done so much for him before.

"We're going to lose the other if we stay here any longer" she laughed as she pulled away, wiping the tears off her face.

At the same time, they heard their professor's voice calling for Yui. As they ran to catch up the others, they exchanged a small smile. The mood somewhat seemed lighter between now, and Hades couldn't chase the smile off his face. Finally, it was Takeru's turn to join him as Hades kept walking alone in the back.

"What were you two doing back there?" Takeru asked as he tried to sound playful.

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" Hades said, amused.

"N-no! Me? Jealous? In your dream." The boy sounded embarrassed as he looked off to the side.

"I apologized to her. For what happened. That's all, no need to be jealous, Stormy."

"What? I'm not- Wait? Stormy?"

"Yeah I thought it was fitting for you- you being the god of sea and storms, and you have quite a personality to go with it. So Stormy"

Takeru paused for a moment and frowned "I don't like it."

"I thought it was cute…"

Seeing his boyfriend's somewhat saddened face, Takeru pouted for a moment "Fine, but don't tell it to Loki" he mumbled.

"Eeeeh, tell me what Ta-tan?" the fire god called as he fell from the tree right above them.

"What the fuck were you doing up there?"

"Oh, nothing special" the prankster smiled as he left them behind.

"I have a very bad feeling about this" Hades admitted as he looked at Loki whispering with Thor and Dionysus.

"Whatever. Come on, we're almost there aren't we?"

"Yeah"

They finally joined the others and the rest of the journey went rather well. Finally, around 8 o'clock, they got to the spot they had chosen a week ago, and where they could see the sky perfectly fine. They set up their camp, as they would sleep here since they were so far. There was no way they could walk back to the dorms in pitch black darkness, plus it would be extremely late.

They settled down around a campfire while they waited for the night sky to fall. They were chatting happily, eating the food they had brought for their dinner. The sleeping bags were pretty much dispersed on the ground, pantheon mixed with each other. They were placed in a circle, Hades' sleeping bag next to Takeru's, who was next to Tsukito, who was next to Dionysus. On Hades left side was Loki, who was also next to Balder as they seemed glued to each other, and then there was Thor and Apollon. Yui was stuck between the sun god and their teacher.

As they casually chatted, Apollon suddenly got excited as he retold some story. Everyone was listening and wondering where he was going with this, until his big mouth said the one thing he couldn't share with the others.

"Right so then, I got out of my room to share this discovery with uncle and wake him up at the same time. So I opened the door, and I really just wanted to tell him about what I had learned about the constellation of the scorpion, and I find him and Take-Take kissing so I froze in the doorway and- uncle? Are you alright uncle?"

Hades choked on the water he had been drinking. Takeru turned and stared Apollon down with anger, while Dionysus hid his face in his hand, as the others observed him with awe. Had they heard him right?

"How about we talk about you fucking my brother uh?" Takeru heatedly replied, with a quick glance at Tsukito "Sorry"

"Holy shit, I didn't expect this… how glad am I that I brought this" Dionysus whispered to himself as he took out a bottle of wine from his backpack.

"Are you serious, Dee-dee? You brought wine here for real?" Apollon commented as his brother uncapped the bottle.

"What? Why shouldn't I have brought it? It's sorta like a party right?"

"Don't try changing subject A-fool-on! You promised Hades not to tell anyone damn it!" Takeru spit as he started getting up, only to be stopped by Hades' strong hand.

"Forget it, Takeru, what's done is done and beating him to a pulp won't change it" the god admitted as he pulled his boyfriend back to the ground.

"All those secret club meeting between the two of you makes sense now" Yui smiled at them

"Yeah whatever" Takeru grumbled. "Why are you all only talking about me and Hades though?"

"Well, Tsukito and Apollon _is_ a surprise, but they had mentioned it yesterday before you got to class" Dionysus explained as he took a sip of his wine.

There was a moment of silence, where the sea god angrily looked at the ground, trying not to jump at Apollon's throat, mostly because he knew it would make his brother sad. Or at least, he thought it would make him sad.

As they waited for more to happen, Thoth quietly asked Dionysus for some of his wine. "This is better than I thought it'd be"

"I didn't expect you to be into drama" Dionysus smiled as he gave him a second bottle.

"Whatever"

Yui hushed them. She was happy for her friends, but slightly sad they hadn't told her they were dating. As she was about to express her opinion, someone cut her.

"While we're on the subject" Thor started saying, surprising everyone "Loki and Balder are also a thing"

"Thor! I believed in you!" Loki whined as he threw his pillow at his friend.

"To be fair, that's not really a surprise Loki" Takeru snorted.

"You'd rather we talk about you and Hades, Ta-tan?" Loki taunted him with a defying smile.

"Stop fucking calling me that!"

"Oh~? Would you prefer we call you Stormy?" Loki continued, pleased that his teasing was wonderfully working.

"You-! I'm going to skin you alive!"

"Alright, enough guys!" Yui decided to speak up, as this was looking to turn into a fight.

"Yui's right" Balder added, his face flushed "This is enough, Loki"

"But I'm just kidding!"

"You know where that can lead, Loki" Thor added, convincing the fire god to stop as he remembered the time it forced Takeru to turn into his god form.

"Right, thank you. It's nice to know you guys understood something" Yui smiled as she looked at them.

Apparently, they had understood the notion of love, even if that wasn't enough to break their restrainers. Things calmed down for a moment while they stayed seated in silence, looking at the campfire as the sky slowly darkened. Thor stood up and went to sit down with Thoth and Dionysus, a bag of popcorn in his hands.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Dionysus asked

"Who cares? It's corn" Thoth said as he picked a handful of it.

"Things aren't over" Thor smiled as he ate the food he had brought.

Dionysus shrugged. Whatever the thunder god meant, it promised to be interesting. If only Thoth knew what was coming for him.

"Since you all outed someone already, it's my turn" Loki said with a smile.

Balder tried to stop Loki before he got up, but ended up falling on his side. Loki started walking around the campfire, looking mysterious and all, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"Ta-tan is dating , A-fool-on and Tsukito are dating, while I'm with Balder right?" he started.

"Oh, just go on with whatever you're going to say"

"This was supposed to be a stargazing event guys, could we put out the fire and just go… stargazing?" Hades sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Shh, Mr. Death, my turn to talk~. As I said, there's one more couple"

"Just spit it out already Loki" Takeru grumbled as he let himself fall on his sleeping bag.

"Right so. The other day I went to the library-"

"You went to the library?" Dionysus snorted.

"Yes, I very much did; I needed inspiration for a prank. Now hush. So I went to the library and guess who I saw coming out of there?" he dramatically turned around and pointed his fingers, who were forming a gun, at Yui and pretended to shoot her "Kitten herself~"

"Loki, this is nothing new"

"Kusanagi Yui is often seen coming out from the library" Tsukito spoke up for the first time.

"Yes, granted but have any of you spoken to Anubis about what really happens in there?" Loki smiled.

There was a long moment of silence while the gods looked at Thoth and Yui. The girl was a bright red color, while Thoth showed no emotion at all. He had stopped eating and was staring back.

"It-It's getting pretty late we should all go to bed! Good night!" Yui spoke quickly as she stood up and laid down in her sleeping bag, burying her face in her pillow.

"Right I'm tired too" Apollon yawned.

The others started imitating their friends while Hades stared at them, unable to say anything. It wasn't even that late! And they hadn't watched the night sky yet! This was going badly… why did he allow everyone to come?

Seeing the distress on his boyfriend's face, Takeru gently took his hand to get his attention.

"Just let them be. We can still do it again eventually."

Hades didn't talk, simply nodding as he headed for his own sleeping bag. Takeru pulled his closer to Hades' and tried to cuddle with him.

"Get a room you two" Loki said in a disgusted voice.

"Loki you bast-"

"I swear if you all don't shut up right about now, you will regret it once we get back to the school" Thoth grumbled, already annoyed by the fact his relationship with the human girl had been outed.

He might be regretting finding it funny for the others to be outed forcefully now. But as long as they stopped talking, he could forget those matter for the moment and sleep.

* * *

Night had fallen a while ago, and the fire had been extinguished. Hades was on his back, looking at the night sky. His eyes were perfectly used to the pitch black darkness, so it looked absolutely gorgeous. But the campsite wasn't the best place to see them. He wished he could get up and go to where he could fully watch the night sky in peace, but Takeru was fast asleep, his head resting on his chest. But this _was_ a stargazing event.

Gently, he moved Takeru aside, and wrapping himself in his sleeping bag, he silently left the camp to get to this place by the hill, where you could see the sea, on which the stars were reflected. The moon was absent, so the only light he had to light his way was the stars.

As he got to the woods, a few feet away from the camp, he heard hurried steps behind him. Turning around, he found Takeru standing sleepily behind him.

"Where are you going?" he whispered.

"I'm going to do the reason of why we climbed all the way up here" Hades replied gently as he started walking again.

"So you're going stargazing. Why didn't you just say that?" the smaller god mumbled as he followed his boyfriend.

They didn't talk for the rest of the way, Hades being busy orienting himself in the dark, and Takeru admiring him from behind, especially his butt. Hades had ended up wrapping his sleeping bag around his shoulder, to make it easier to walk in the forest, so Takeru could look all he wants at his boyfriend's behind, without him even noticing a thing. He started thinking about _stuff_ involving his boyfriend's ass, until Hades came to a stop.

"Here we are. Isn't the view astonishing?" the older god commented as he stared at the horizon.

"Yeah, it's very pretty" Takeru smiled, not taking his eyes off of Hades' behind.

The man turned around, an eyebrow raised in question. "What were you looking at?"

"The view, why?" the sea god frowned.

"You were definitely not looking at the view"

"Well, your butt is quite a view to be fair and honest"

Hades' face became a light pink shade, and he was very glad it was dark. He wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and sat on the ground, pretending to be sulking. Takeru only laughed, until his eyes fell on the valley below them, and the sky reflecting on the ocean. His mouth fell open as no sound would come out. He could only stare in awe.

" _Now_ you are looking at the correct view" Hades smiled as he grabbed Takeru's hand to make him sit down in front of him.

As Takeru kept staring at what was in front of him, Hades pressed his torso against the boy's back, hugging him from behind, but also providing him warmth as the night was fairly cold. He stayed silent as he looked up at the sky, seeing the constellations he knew by heart now.

"Hey, tell me about the stars" Takeru whispered as he laid back against Hades.

"Which one?"

"Hm. Your favorite, I don't care. I just like hearing you talk about the stars"

Hades took a moment and looked at the night sky, looking for a specific star. It hadn't really meant anything to him until very recently. Finally, he rose an arm and pointed to a constellation.

"Acamar, in the constellation of Eridanus" he spoke slowly. "It means "end of the river", and although Achemar is the true end of Eridanus, it isn't visible in Greece."

Takeru listened to him attentively. He didn't care much for the stars at first, but as Hades shared his passion through club meetings, he started to be genuinely interested in them. It was also fun to understand what Hades was talking about from time to time without having to interrupt him to ask him to explain something.

The time passed and Takeru slowly felt like he was falling asleep again to the sound of Hades deep voice. He didn't really want to, but it was stronger than him. Fortunately enough, a voice behind them brought him back from sleep land.

"There you are!" Yui sighed as she took a place next to them "We've been looking for you for the past fifteen minutes"

"Sorry, I thought you were all asleep" Hades said, glancing briefly at them.

The whole class was there, Thoth included. They sat down and started looking at the sky too. Loki was strangely silent, as he was the only one who was actually asleep when they chose to leave the camp to go look for the two missing gods. He was leaning against Balder and looking at the sky. Thoth had put a protective arm around Yui's shoulders. Dionysus had brought another bottle of wine and was hanging out with Thor in the back. And finally, Tsukito, who was already awake despite the lack of moon in the sky, stared at the sky, Apollon's head resting on his knees as the Greek god laid down on his back to look at the sky.

"So what were you talking about, uncle? What were you saying?"

"Just… talking about various constellation"

"Hey, Mr. Death, tell us about the Great Bear" Loki asked, half asleep.

"I don't think my stories are the same as yours"

"Don't care"

And so, Hades started talking about what he knew of the stars, answering questions as they went, and sometimes turning to Thoth when he didn't know. Fortunately enough, Thoth, being the god of knowledge among other thing, knew his fair share about the night sky and could help him, not without pretending this didn't make him happy. Still, he did seem to appreciate the event, even if he tried to hide it.

At dawn, they decided to go back to their camp, the students discussing in small groups about what they had learnt. Hades was carrying Takeru, who had ended up falling asleep in his lap in the end. He put him down on his sleeping bag, laying down next to him.

He fell asleep as the birds started to sing, thinking he was glad they had saved him from the river. Even if times were still hard for him, his friends had shown such support and care… it made him want to give life a second try.


	8. Chapter 8

**And here we go for chapter 8! The next chapter is the last one hehe!**

 **Thanks to Yuu for the betaaa and sorry this took so long orz**

* * *

The morning after the expedition, Hades woke up in his bed after a strange dream. He couldn't remember what it was. The only memory left was this strange, awful feeling, like he had relived a horrible scene from the past, and good lord, he lived a lot.

He sat in his bed for a long moment, trying to calm his heart. He looked briefly at Takeru's sleeping figure next to him, and decided that cuddling with him would probably help chasing the feeling away. So he moved his boyfriend's arm so he would be hugging him too, even if the boy was asleep.

Even if Hades had tried his best not to wake him up, Takeru cracked an eye open. "Good morning, Beautiful." he smiled as he hugged the god. "How are you?"

"I'm…. I don't know how to say. I've had this strange dream, but I don't remember it…"

"Oh, that always sucks when it happens."

Hades hugged Takeru closer and closed his eyes, taking in the smell of the boy's skin. It always reminded him of when he visited his brother at the seashores back in Greece, with a small hint of something sweet… Hades was never able to pinpoint what it was. A strange mix of salt water and sweetness. But Takeru's scent changed depending on the weather. When it was clear, he smelled like the sea. When storming, he smelled like wet earth and a storm during a warm summer day. When it was colder, a slight scent of burning wood could be smelled under all the saline smell.

"Not that I am uncomfortable, but we got school, 'des." Takeru half-heartedly said as he quickly glanced at the time.

"Hmmm… five more minutes?"

"Don't ask me, I'm going to say yes for sure."

Hades laughed and kissed his boyfriend gently on the lips, which slowly deepened into a lazy kiss, mixed with small laughs. They stayed in bed for lot longer than 5 minutes, and had to hurry once they got out.

Once they were ready for school, all dressed up and properly nourished, they left the Greek dorm with Apollon and Dionysus. They were talking casually, not paying attention to their surroundings, until Apollon looked up to the sky and lost his smile.

"It's snowing…"

Hades had stopped walking a few meters before him, as he looked at the ground in horror. Snow. It was now winter. How could he have done this to him…?

"I… I'm not feeling well, I think I will stay in the dorm today." he excused himself before turning around and running back to the Greek dorm.

"Hades, wait!" Takeru called back, but was stop by the brothers. "Hey! Let me go!"

"It's better if you leave him alone for now, Take-Take" Apollon said in a sad tone. "He needs to be alone for now. That's all we can do. It really is."

"What? Why? What's the matter with him and snow? Why didn't he tell me?"

"We'll tell you at school… let's hurry, if we want to get there before the bell rings." Dionysus added as he started walking again toward the school.

The Japanese god reluctantly followed his classmate as he glanced one more time at the dorms.

* * *

Hades threw the door open and closed it quickly. He removed his shoes, kicking them in whatever direction, not paying attention to where they landed. He ran back upstairs to his room, and violently opened the door to his bathroom. He let cold water run from the sink as he put his hand under it, splashing his face with it.

He needed to calm down and quickly. He couldn't let these old emotions overwhelm him again. Not now. This had been over and decided centuries ago. And yet, he couldn't stop the emotions filling his head. Why? Why had Zeus decided winter would be a season they should live in at this school?

Hades passed his head under the water and closed it. Without even taking the time to dry his hair, he went back to his room and stood in the middle of it for a moment. He felt so… so _angry_! Why did his curse have to make him suffer all the time? Why was it that every time he felt remotely happy, that he felt like he belonged, things had to go downhill again?

He grabbed whatever was on the drawer next to him and threw it at the wall in his bedroom. Finding something strangely calming in the action, he repeated it with something else. As he repeated it countlessly, throwing various objects that belonged to him, he became less and less conscious. His body was moving on his own, his eyes wild as he kept throwing stuff. A glass of water. His watch. A rose Takeru had brought to him. Anything that fit in his hand was thrown at the wall or to the ground, a few items finding their way out of the window.

He was dishevelled, his fringe normally hiding his cursed eye moved out of the way. He was breathing heavily. He frantically looked around for something to throw. All his belongings were on the floor… except for his violin.

He hadn't played violin since Persephone had left him. She was the one who showed the instrument to him, and he had followed its evolution through the years and learnt how to play it with the best players in the world as they came down in the underworld, offering them a better end than the fields of Asphodel in exchange for private classes. He had become quite good at it, but alas, the day Persephone decided he was just a creepy old man and wasn't worth her attention anymore, he decided he would never ever play it again. But dating Takeru had made him want to give the violin one more chance…

He grabbed it and walked toward his window, still not realizing what he was about to do. He rose his arm, ready to throw the instrument. Just when he started moving his arm, he felt something tightly grasping his wrist. He turned around and found Takeru standing behind him.

"Don't throw it." he said in a voice barely audible.

"Why should I keep something that reminds me of her so much?" Hades replied in a harsh voice.

"Because it's more than that, isn't it? Apollon said you've started playing it again. That you started playing a new song he never heard."

Hades froze. He slowly came back to his senses as Takeru's hand grabbed him harder, preventing him from throwing the violin. He slowly lowered his arm, Takeru following the movement so he wouldn't hurt his boyfriend. When he felt it was safe enough to do so, he let go of his wrist. They stood there in silence, Hades looking empty, his eyes filling up with tears.

Takeru took the instrument out of Hades' hand and put it down on the desk where it was laying before. Carefully, he made Hades walk to his bed, making him sit down on it. The Greek god was silently crying, looking at the mess he had done, reliving what happened after Persephone had left. The underworld had found itself upside down, a lot like his bedroom right now, but on a bigger scale.

The Japanese god took a place beside him and wrapped his arm around Hades' shoulders to invite him to cry on his own. The man had covered his face with his hand as he started sobbing harder, his head resting on Takeru's shoulder.

"It's okay 'des… I'm here now"

Hades threw his arms around Takeru's neck, now crying really hard as Takeru silently hugged him, gently petting his hair in a soothing way. He didn't know how Hades must be feeling exactly, but loneliness must have been a very important feeling in his heart right now. Being abandoned by the ones you love left a horrible after taste in your mouth, and that, Takeru knew it fairly well, but for different reasons.

Once Hades had calmed down, Takeru reached out for the tissue box by his bed and handed it to him. Hades gladly blew his nose. He felt horrible and tired. He didn't want to see anyone, except maybe Takeru. But even if he had tried to make the boy leave, he knew it wouldn't have worked. The sea god could be very persistent, and also persuasive. Very, very persuasive…

Without saying a word, Takeru removed his headband and removed his jacket. He climbed in Hades' bed again, sitting on it with his back against the wall. Silently, the god of the underworld crawled over to him and let himself fall next to Takeru, his head resting on his abs. Takeru started playing with Hades hair, as this simple gesture seemed to always calm Hades down. The lord of the dead closed his eyes and hugged his boyfriend.

Takeru looked around the room at the mess Hades had created. His eyes fell on the violin he had saved. From what Apollon had said, Hades had learnt to play it because Persephone just loved the instrument. Hades had taken a liking to it as he learnt from the best musicians who had mastered it and come to the underworld after. He was in the middle of composing a piece for his beloved when she had decided to leave him. But ever since then, he hadn't touched the instrument. Yet… Apollon had mentioned hearing notes every now and then, coming from Hades' room. It wasn't a song he knew, and Apollon knew quite a lot about music.

"'des?" he whispered, wondering if he had fallen asleep.

"Hm?" Hades grumbled back, sounding slightly annoyed.

He didn't really feel like speaking, and after his little rampage, he'd rather go to sleep. He felt exhausted and only wanted to rest for a while.

"Apollon says you've been playing your violin again." Takeru tried.

"I have." he replied grumpily.

"He also says it's a composition."

"It is." Hades was a bit confused by now.

There was a long moment of silence. Hades wasn't quite sure of what Takeru was asking, if he just wanted to make sure Apollon did not lie or if he wanted to know more about Hades secret hobby, or if he wanted to know more about the composition. At the thought of the last point, Hades became very flustered and covered his face with his hand, pressing himself more against his boyfriend.

"No." he muttered.

"I didn't even ask anything!" Takeru protested.

"You're going to ask me to play. I will not."

"Aw come on. Why won't you play for me? Is it because it reminds you too much of that girl?"

Hades hesitated for a moment. "No. For a long time it was the reason but not anymore."

"Okaaay hm. Is it because… you don't like people hearing you play?"

"Yes and no. I don't really like it, but I don't mind it." Hades mused.

He was still incredibly tired and would rather sleep, especially after losing a whole day, but he found it amusing that Takeru absolutely wanted to know. And his guesses were funny.

"Is it because the song you're composing is for me because you're a nerd and you're ashamed of it? Ah, forget that, that's a joke… 'des? Hades what's wrong?"

Hades had grabbed the blanket and hidden his head under it. Oh gods he did figure it out on his own.

"Wait you actually did that? You actually composed a song for _me?!"_

"Maybe..." Hades grumbled, more annoyed than anything else.

He didn't want Takeru knowing anything about this before he was done composing, and even then he didn't know if he was going to show it to him. It all depended if he liked the result enough. So far, he found it alright but he still had a lot of stuff to work on.

"Please play it to me." the sea god pleaded.

"I told you I wouldn't!"

"Please, my beautiful 'des"

"What is it that you don't understand in no? The N or the O?"

"I'll make you daifuku."

"You'll end up making me some anyway."

"Please, I just want to hear it Hades, it's all I ask. Just a few notes?"

"Fine! You win! But you better make me some daifuku."

Takeru was smiling as Hades grumpily stood up. He seemed to have forgotten his sadness, at least for a moment. Even the violin seemed to have changed meaning to him. He was glad he had been able to change his mind.

Hades picked up the violin, looked for his arch through the mess in his room. Finally he found it. He cleared the floor a bit, as he liked to pace as he played, tuned the violin, and placed the music sheet on the lectern.

The sea god observed his boyfriend getting ready, trying not to laugh. It was amusing to see him go and look so nervous. Yet, it was also reassuring, after his breakdown. Takeru was surprised he had got over everything so quickly.

Finally, Hades tied his hair up, uncovering his left eye, placed the violin under his chin, took a deep breath and started playing. The beginning was soft and high pitched, and suddenly dropped to a low, long note. Takeru was immediately caught in the melody, staring at his boyfriend. Hades was looking at his fingers as he changed their positions. He was so focused on his task, it was absolutely adorable. He had this small frown on his face, as he tried to remember the notes he had previously written, looking from time to time to his music sheets.

The melody was absolutely astonishing. As much as Takeru was admiring Hades' physic, the sound of the song was simply gorgeous and caught his total attention. Takeru felt like he was at home, by the sea and staring down on the water. At another moment he felt like he was at sea, his boat shaken by the waves as a storm was raging around him. But at every note, he was reminded of himself. Every note of the melody, every pause, every silence… altogether it reminded him of him, but not quite how he viewed himself. It was like watching from another person's point of view, from someone who loved him dearly. It felt like he was listening Hades making a speech about his undying love for him.

Phrased like that, it sounded a bit weird, but it was exactly how he felt. The music stopped suddenly in the middle of the tune, and Hades opened his eyes. Takeru stared for a moment, unable to say anything. When he finally found his voice, all he said was:

"Can you play while sitting?"

"Er, well, yes but…why?" Hades stuttered, looking puzzled. He thought Takeru would at least say if he liked the song or not.

"Come sit here and play it again."

Hades slowly walked toward his bed, sat on it and as he got ready to play, Takeru laid down on his side, his head resting on Hades' thigh.

"Is this alright?"

"Well yeah, I guess."

"Then play my melody again." Takeru finished in a whisper.

With a small smile, Hades started playing again. Takeru listened to his song, eyes closed. Slowly, he fell into a deep slumber. Hades kept playing, until he heard his boyfriend snore. He put his violin down next to him and gently stroke Takeru's hair.

This young god had really changed him. Snow used to make him absolutely mad, but today, it didn't feel as bad anymore. It still reminded him of his beautiful Persephone, but now the pain had been… softened. He felt like he was slowly moving on from the past, and going toward a brighter future. He didn't want to die anymore. He simply wanted to spend his days enjoying life with Takeru and his friends, and the nights cuddled with his boyfriend or watching the night sky with him.

How things had changed since the day he had decided it wasn't worth living anymore. Since the moment he tried to kill himself by jumping in the river, everything had changed. He felt like he had changed.

Gently, Hades moved Takeru so he could stand up. The boy was sleeping so hard he never woke up as the Greek god put his head on a pillow and put a blanket over him. With a smile, Hades put on warm clothes, took his violin and headed for the exit. There was something he felt he needed to do, in order to end all of this properly.

He left a note for his nephews, who weren't in the dormitory. He scribbled on a piece of paper " _Gone for a walk. Takeru asleep in my room. Love you, Hades"._ He left the paper on the table, where he was sure no one would miss it. With that done, he put on his boots and headed outside.

The wind was chilly, but not extremely cold. It was more like the end of autumn, when the first snow falls. Which it was, in fact.

Hades paused for a moment. He fought back feelings, took a deep breath and started walking. He took a path that lead into the forest, and eventually, to the river where he should have drowned. But Takeru's stubbornness saved him. To think they could have both died…

On the way there, Hades thought about many things. He thought about Yui, who didn't deserve feeling guilty for his actions. If… if they were to fail, he would beg Zeus to send her back to her world, even if that would make him miss her incredibly. He couldn't have Yui pay for the other gods.

After, he thought about the Norse gods. Those three were quite a thing. Loki and his pranks, Balder and his meat and Thor and his… well he wasn't quite sure what Thor did, but he was there. He would miss them too. Loki might not be quite the kind of person Hades usually hung out with (well, not that he hung out with many people), but he had good intentions and wasn't all that bad. Balder was pretty charming and nice too. And well, even if Thor barely talked, he still was his friend.

Apollon and Dionysus came to his mind. His nephews, who to be fair, could be overwhelming, had actually grown on him. He would miss waking up to Apollon burning something in the kitchen, and having to clean up after. He would miss Dionysus proposing wine at _every_ meal they shared. They weren't close before, since people rarely visited Erebos (with reasons), but now… they were more like a family than ever before.

As for Tsukito… the boy was pretty quiet too. But something had changed in him. Hades had noticed. Ever since the moon god had started dating Apollon, he had warmed up to the others. He would participate more in conversations, and take less notes. He still addressed them by their full name, but that still could change.

And finally… his dearest Takeru. This boy had successfully melt the wall he was desperately trying to hold up. Yet, he had created a major breach that day, when he threw rocks at Hades' window. Hades had been in love with him for oh so long before all the drama, but he wouldn't allow this feeling to go any further. And yet… he couldn't imagine his life without Takeru. It would be a useless life…

He finally reached the spot where he had jumped, months earlier. The water wasn't frozen yet, and flowed peacefully. Hades stood in the same spot he had stood when he had jumped, and he was going to attend at his life again. But not quite in the same way he had before.

Gently, Hades started playing a melody. It was soft and warm in the cold of the winter. It reminded him of the sun, the flowers, the grass, the wind… but all in all, it reminded him of Persephone. Oh, how much he had loved her. But now… when he thought about her, about their life together as he played her song, he felt nothing. As the song went, he stopped feeling resentment, sadness and even loneliness. It was like playing her song finally closed this chapter of his life for good.

He felt tears rolling down his cheeks as he played, but he wasn't really crying. He just stared in the distance as he played the song, replaying in his head his happy moment with his ex-wife. Finally he got to the final note, a long, high-pitched note. When he finished playing, his arms fell to his side, holding violin and arch in his hands. He stared at the forest on the other side of the river, the trees covered in snow. A small smile formed on his lips. He wasn't fully healed, oh no. But he was closer and closer to being reconciled with life. He had closed an important chapter in his thousands of years of living, and he was ready to move on. He was now loved, he had friends, and he knew he deserved to live. He knew he was worth something, even if it was a small worth.

Suddenly, he felt his necklace break and disappear. Quickly, he parted his shirt and jacket to look at his now naked neck. Did he... really?

As he stood there, surprised and unable to move, he heard a voice yell his name. Slowly he turned around, just in time to catch Takeru in his arms.

"Please don't jump, please" the boy sobbed as he hugged him close.

"I'm not going to jump, Stormy. It's okay" Hades chuckled as he pressed a small kiss on the sea god's forehead.

"Then what the fuck are you doing here! I was fucking worried you- you- " Hades didn't leave him the time to let him finish his sentence that he kissed him. "You dumb idiot." he finished once his lips were free.

"I'm sorry. I should have made my little note clearer I guess."

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Just playing violin."

"Come on, let's go back to the dormitory… I'm cold."

Hades took a good look at Takeru and sighed. The boy didn't even put any shoes on, and didn't even have a coat or something. The Greek god removed one of his jackets and gave it to Takeru. He put down his instrument and crouched in the snow.

"Get on, your feet are probably cold enough now."

"I'm fine I can walk- "

"Oh, just get on already! And put that jacket on."

Takeru quickly put on the jacket, which was too big for him, and climbed on Hades' back. Before he stood up, Hades gave him the violin and the arch, which the sea god took in his hand, holding them low enough so they wouldn't be in his boyfriend's face, as he had his arms around his neck.

Together, they walked back to the Greek's dorm. It took a little more time than when they walked to the spot, as Takeru might be small but he was still pretty heavy, and Hades wasn't in top shape. Finally, as the dorm came in view, Takeru asked one last question.

"Seriously though, why did you go and play violin there specially?"

"Let's just say I wanted to drown my sorrows." Hades smiled, although Takeru couldn't see it.

"That's not even funny."

Hades laughed softly, and was joined by his boyfriend. They reached the dorm as the moon appeared brightly in the sky. They spent the night cuddling and warming Takeru up, hoping he would not catch a cold.

All in all, everything was fine. And they hoped it'd be like that until the end of time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ehhh... finally, the final chapter... Thanks to everyone who followed, liked and reviewed this story! It means a lot to me! I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. Anyway, I think you've waited long enough for that, I won't keeps you from reading any longer.**

 **Thank you to Dragon-overlord-Yuu for the beta as always! Without her, many dots would be missing. and a wall would be a while.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Things were back to normal. Classes were going fine, and Hades was quite well. They were so close to graduation now, yet only he and Apollon had broken their restrainers. They weren't scared that the others would succeed too, and yet… they were running out of time.

As they waited for their class to start, the gods chatted together, talking about nothing in particular. Loki was being restless, as usual, standing up and going around the classroom, throwing a small candy in the air and catching it back in his hand as it fell down.

"Hey, Mr. Death! Are you ever going to do another star gazing event?"

"For you to out someone else's relationship? No thanks." Hades replied as he scribbled down some notes about their homework from yesterday.

"We're all outed already though! We could do something before…before everything ends..." Balder said.

The atmosphere grew colder instantly. They didn't want to think about graduation, which was going to be a lot sooner than they had thought at first. Hades glanced quickly at Takeru, who smiled back at him. They hoped they'd be able to see each other again, but as time flied, it was less and less likely that they would.

"I think it'd be a good idea! Right uncle? It'd be a very good idea to do something all together again!" Apollon quickly said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. We'll talk about it at tonight's club activity meeting." Hades smiled at his nephew.

At least they'd have a good memory of their time together. They always went with the idea they were going to leave this school forever, since in the other case they would be stuck forever in the miniature garden.

* * *

The rest of the day went peacefully. After classes, Hades and Takeru fled to the astronomy club's room, saying they wanted to look at some stuff for the event. They left under Loki's teasing about them only finding an excuse to go make out in somewhere alone. Yui and the rest of the Greeks would join them later, as they had something to take care of before.

Silently, the two of them walked toward the club room. Ever since they had shared that look earlier today, when Balder mentioned everything was about to end, they needed to talk about it. They needed to talk about the past months and everything they went through, from the moment Hades jumped in the river to now.

They entered the room, putting their bags down by the wall. Hades went straight for the couch and sat down on it, throwing his head back and looking at the ceiling. Takeru took a long moment before slowly walking toward his boyfriend, letting himself fall next to him and passing his arms around his waist, hugging him.

"I don't want to lose you." he whispered, looking at the table in front of them.

"I don't want to lose me either." Hades smiled, trying to shake the sadness from his boyfriend.

Seeing as he wasn't reacting at all, Hades forced him to sit up properly, so he could look at him. He saw just how sad Takeru actually looked, tears filling up his eyes, even though he would not let them fall.

"Hey, Stormy." Hades whispered as he hugged him close. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure something out."

He pressed a kiss to the top of Takeru's head, burying his face in the boy's blue hair. His nose was filled with the smell off the sea, the saline air that reminded him of Greece. He tangled his finger in Takeru's hair, undoing his small ponytail and removing his headband.

Takeru hugged him strongly, his face buried in the crook of Hades' neck. "I almost wish we stay stuck here forever."

"We can't do that to Yui."

"I know…. That's why I said almost."

Hades gently pushed the boy away from him and cradled his face in his large hands, kissing the tip of his nose. "I promise we'll find a way, Tak. We will see each other again after we graduate. I'm not letting you go, not ever."

"It's a bit funny, how you are the one comforting me when a little while ago, it was the other way around." Takeru smiled sadly as he stared into Hades eye.

"Yes." Hades smiled back. "It's my turn to comfort you."

Hades leaned down and pressed a kiss to Takeru's lips, at first a simple brush of his lips, a small peck to the corner of his mouth, and finally kissing him properly. Takeru's lips were slightly parted, inviting his lover to deepen the kiss, and he did.

Hades let go of Takeru's face and pushed him down on the couch as the boy's legs moved to wrap themselves around Hades' waist, blocking him on top of the sea god. Their lips were locked together, their tongues twirling together as Hades pressed himself against his boyfriend. He felt his cheeks burning as he kissed Takeru's jaw, slowly trailing down to his neck where he gently bit the soft skin.

Takeru moaned against Hades' ear as he felt his skin getting warmer at every touch, every kiss Hades left on him. He bit his ear gently, earning a low growl. What he did not expect was Hades taking possession of his lips again. The sea god smiled, as he knew his boyfriend's ears were his weakness. But the fact he wouldn't let him touch his ears meant he didn't want to go further than this. And Takeru was fine with that. It would have felt wrong to do it, when really all the sea god wanted was to feel his boyfriend next to him. Anyway, they would have plenty of time later tonight to get it on.

"Hades…" Takeru moaned against Hades' lips.

His face was flushed, but not as much as the Greek's. Since Hades' had a pretty pale skin tone in general, when the blood rushed to his face during intimate moments, he became a deep red color, which always amused Takeru.

Takeru wrapped his arms around Hades neck, hugging him even closer, biting his boyfriend's lower lip. They stayed like that for a long time, kissing, biting and sucking, leaving love marks on each other, like they were going to be separated soon and wanted to make sure everyone knew the other belonged to someone.

After a long moment, they parted, breathless, staring into each other's eyes. Takeru let his legs fall from Hades' waist as the Greek man let himself fall on top of his boyfriend, his face pressed against the boy's neck.

"I love you." he whispered, his voice but a barely audible whisper.

"I love you too." Takeru replied in the same hushed tone, a smile gently spreading on his lips. "And you're getting it tonight."

Hades laughed softly. "I'll personally see to that."

They cuddled a while longer, not talking, simply enjoying the other's presence. They jumped slightly when they heard the door opening violently and hitting the wall.

"Hades! Takeru!" Yui's voice called, panicked.

"What's wrong?" Hades asked first, sitting up on the couch, giving Takeru the chance to do so too.

"Are we interrupting something?" Dionysus couldn't help but ask seeing the two dishevelled gods.

"No. What's going on, weed? Is everything alright?" Takeru asked as he tried to style his hair back to his normal hairdo.

"It's Loki and Balder, they have disappeared and Thor fears for the worst." the young girl explained.

Only then did they see the tall man standing in the background, looking more worried than ever. It was strange, since they were so used to seeing him with a straight face all the time. They remembered what Thor had told them a few days ago, when Balder had fainted during class and Loki had stayed with him the whole time during the god of light's stay in the infirmary. Thinking that Loki had to kill his own boyfriend… that was horrible.

"They've been gone since when?"

"After school. Loki said he wanted to show Balder something." Dionysus replied. "Thor was not with them and I didn't think it was an important detail."

"Loki said he wanted to end this soon. He's scared it's going to be too late otherwise, and Balder will… he doesn't want Balder to suffer any longer." The thunder god explained briefly.

"We need to find them quickly. Apollon is on his way to the Library to tell Thoth and Tsukito, and then to Zeus. We have to hurry." Yui concluded.

"Let's separate. I'll cover the west wing, Takeru you'll cover the school ground with Dionysus. Yui, north wing. Thor east wing and tell Apollon to do the south wing. He'll probably want Tsukito with him."

They nodded and left rapidly. They had to cover the school ground, and then if they didn't find them, the dorms and the forest. They had so little time…

They ran through the school. Balder and Loki couldn't be that far! Hades felt guilty… he hadn't realized he wasn't the only one suffering…

He had covered the whole west wing and had met Takeru as the boy came back in the school to find him, having finished looking around the school ground. They were now running through the corridors.

Seeing his boyfriend's worried face, Takeru gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. He had gotten quite good at reading Hades' moods. He understood how his brain worked, and how he felt right now.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Thor said it was bound to happen."

"I know. Still… I can't help but feel like if everyone hadn't been worrying about me, this wouldn't even be in the equation…"

"Balder has always been the god of destruction, it was in his fate. You Greeks have the Three Fates right? Well, it was on his string of life."

"How do you even know about that?" Hades asked, puzzled as they turned in a different hallway, still running.

"When Thor said the Norns had mentioned this would happen, I asked what it was and Apollon said they were like the Greek's Moirai, or the Fates. He explained briefly that they controlled the thread of life of every mortal, from birth to death."

"I'm surprised you remembered all that." Hades smiled as they reached the exit of the school.

"Fuck off." Takeru grinned.

They came to a stop in front of the door. The sun was setting. They were joined by the others fairly quickly.

"No sign of them?" Yui asked, obviously worried by the imminent danger.

The gods all shook their head. The only ones missing were, of course, the Norse gods. Thor had already left to go look in the forest. And as the day slowly faded out, it became urgent to find the others.

Suddenly a burst of light cut the horizon in two. The small group stared for a while, surprised at the bright light standing like a pillar right after the forest. The earth shook, catching them off guard.

"Oh no" Yui said in a small voice, tearing up.

It was too late. They didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't looking good. The earth shook again, and Thoth arrived on the stairs, looking at the beam of light.

Hades observed them all as Yui ran toward the Egyptian god, jumping into his arms for comfort, Thoth hugging her close in protection. He saw Apollon taking hold of Tsukito's hand. Dionysus walking away, not knowing how to react in the situation. And Takeru. He was standing there, staring, his expression blank.

He saw a blast of fire through the air, attacking the light pillar, followed by lightning strikes.

"It's not too late" He said, surprising anyone "We can still save Balder."

The earth rumbled again, sending them to the ground. "How?" Dionysus asked, skeptical.

"Me and Apollon. We can change into our god forms. You all- just help the spirits. I don't want them to be harmed."

"I'm going too." Takeru said, planting himself before him.

"Nope." Hades leaned down and kissed him gently. "I know you're strong, but without your godly powers, you could get hurt, Stormy. Please… stay behind, just this time." He pleaded.

"I'm not staying behind, I'm going too!" the sea god angrily replied.

"It's my turn to keep you safe. Please. Just do this for me."

Takeru frowned. He felt so useless without his powers! All he wanted was to help as much as he could. He wanted to help his friends. He wanted to save them, like he saved Hades, and like he wished he could have saved Izanami. He didn't want anyone else to go without him reacting.

"I am going. I'm not letting you go and risking your life without me there to defend you. And I want to help Balder too. I am going." He said, head high, looking mad, but mostly determined.

Something snapped around his ankle. Surprised, he looked down and raised the bottom of his pants, only to see that his shackle was gone. A wide smile spread on his face as he looked up to see Hades smiling back at him.

"You can't stop me now." he said as he walked a few steps backward, turning into his god form.

"You win this time, Stormy. Now come on, Apollon get your ass over here, we got a god to save."

The Greeks transformed and jumped into the air, following Takeru who was waiting for them already. Scepter in hand, fire surrounding him, Hades looked fierce and scarier than ever. And yet, he was the same Hades they had saved from that river's water, and helped him heal through the months. Now, it was time to give back what his friends had given to him.

"Yui" he spoke solemnly, looking down at the Japanese girl, "I count on you to help the spirits… and the rest of these boys to figure it all out." he smiled.

"I will" she winked back at him, her eyes teary.

By the sea, the landscape was a disaster. Fire was raging in the forest, holes in the ground where lightning and ray of light had hit.

"I don't see Loki-Loki." Apollon said as they stared. "I can't see him."

"I don't see him or Thor at all… and I'm guessing Balder is in the middle of that thing." Hades added.

"Over there."

They looked down at where Takeru was pointing only to see Loki lying down in the sand, Thor running toward him. They immediately dove to where they were, landing a few meters away, close enough to hear what was going on.

"I- I couldn't do it." Loki sobbed, hiding his face in his hand "I couldn't put him out of his misery."

"Loki, it's not too late." Thor tried to argue.

"Yes! It's too late I wasn't quick enough I wasn't… I wasn't…"

Before they could say or do anything, Takeru ran toward Loki and grabbed him by the collar, raising him off the ground. Surprised, the fire god stared at him, unable to speak, tears still streaming down his cheeks.

"Get a hold of yourself, idiot!" he yelled, shaking him "Do you think you'll save him by giving up? You're stronger than that, more persistent! Come on Loki, you're not alone in this. We'll help you."

Loki stared for a long moment, unable to speak. Takeru let him go and stepped back. Loki wiped the tears away and smiled his mischievous smile at the smaller god.

"Alright. Let's save Balder's butt." he smiled.

They fought bravely, trying to create a breach through the pillar of light. At some point, they were joined by the others. They concentrated their attacks on the pillar of light, relentlessly hitting it to create a breach. They needed to get Balder out of there, and quick. The garden was being destroyed, and soon there wouldn't be anything left to save.

The moment there was a crack big enough to let someone go through it, Loki jumped on the occasion. Surrounded by flames so the walls wouldn't close around him, the fire god hurried to his boyfriend's side. He had to calm him down and quick. They barely had minutes left before they would all die…

While Loki was taking care of that, the rest of them stayed outside, deflecting the destructive light that kept attacking from every side.

Takeru was standing far from his boyfriend, swinging his sword here and there, sending the light back where it came from. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Hades doing the same with his scepter. He dreaded the end of this fight. He didn't know what was going to happen and it scared him. To believe he might be separated from his beloved forever horrified him.

"Takeru, be careful!" He heard Hades yell.

Takeru turned around just in time to deflect a deadly ray of light that was coming his way. Right. Before thinking about the after match, they needed to live through this moment. What was taking Loki so long anyway?

Everything suddenly calmed down. The pillar of light was still there, but it wasn't attacking anymore. Nothing could be heard. Silence ruled on the battlefield. It felt unreal, to be able to call it over now.

The earth shook again, confirming Takeru's fears. It wasn't over yet. He turned to look at Hades as one last ray of light shot out of the pillar, directly toward his boyfriend.

The world stopped as he stared in horror to what was happening. The ray was shaped like a lightning bolt, springing right toward Hades, most likely going to kill him. He would have been able to avoid it, but the lightning was absolutely silent, and Hades was looking at his nephews, talking about something. He was unaware of the danger, and there wasn't enough time to act anymore.

Without a second thought, Takeru flew right over to his boyfriend. He couldn't afford losing him. Not after everything they had gone through. Not after everything _Hades_ had gone through. He had finally come to term with himself. He had finally accepted he was allowed to be happy, that he could live. Takeru would never be able to survive if he knew Hades had died, so shortly after he had healed.

He placed himself before Hades, who turned around at the same time as the bolt of light hit Takeru. His eyes widened as he saw the sea god falling toward the ground, inert. There was a moment where he couldn't move, unable to understand what had just happened. In a fraction of second, he was diving toward the ground after Takeru's body, catching him in his arms just in time. He landed on the ground safely, falling to his knees as he cradled the boy's body.

"Wake up.." he whispered, shaking Takeru's body gently.

Takeru looked up at him and smiled, placing a hand on Hades' cheek. At the same time, the light disappeared and the others started surrounding them, wondering what had happened.

"Are you hurt?" the boy croaked before being taken by a fit of coughing.

"I'm-I'm fine… don't talk we'll get you help soon."

"Hades" Takeru's voice was slowly fading away. "Promise me… that you'll live… okay?"

Tears started streaming down Hades' face as the inevitable dawned on him. He was feeling death lurking nearby, ready to take his boyfriend away forever.

"Why did you save me idiot? Why…?" Hades sobbed as he pressed his face against Takeru's hand.

"Because…you deserve to live, stupid. Promise me to keep going?"

Hades nodded, no sound coming out of his mouth. He wasn't able to speak. He couldn't handle what was happening. Takeru couldn't die! Not him…

"I love you…'Des" the sea god whispered in a barely audible voice, smiling at Hades.

The Greek god gently pressed a kiss on Takeru's lips, but the boy was already gone. Hades hugged the corpse close, crying hard against Takeru's neck as the very last of life left his body. Why did it have to be him? After he had just broken his shackle… and their promise! How could he have…?

"Uncle..." Apollon gently said, putting a hand on Hades' shoulder.

Hades shrugged him off as he got to his feet, walking away. He wouldn't let go of Takeru's body. He couldn't. After all they had gone through, it felt unreal. Unbelievable. This was all just a dream, a horrible nightmare. Hades believed he would wake up from this, to find Takeru curled up in his arms, sleeping soundly. But the sharp pain he felt in his heart made him sure it was not a dream. It was the truth, the terrible reality. And it was his fault. If he hadn't been so sure they had won, that he could spare a few seconds to talk to his nephews, Takeru wouldn't have had to save him again.

Takeru had saved him twice. The first time, they had both lived and Takeru had helped him find joy in life again. But the second time, only one of them would live.

And he would never see Takeru again.

* * *

The garden had been saved in time, and Zeus had been able to reconstruct it for the rest of the time they had to spend at the school until the final day. And there they were, on the graduation day. Unlike what one would have expected, the atmosphere was cold and sad. They were all grieving the death of Takeru.

Hades was sitting in the far back. He was wearing his uniform, looking very formal in it. His expression was blank, but everyone knew he was still blaming himself over the death of his boyfriend. He still believe that if they hadn't been so busy worrying for him, they would have reacted in time to help Balder. And Takeru would still be here with them…

Zeus made a speech up front, but his big brother wasn't listening to him. He couldn't bring himself to believe he deserved this graduation, not after everything. Takeru should have been the one attending this ceremony, and not him.

As soon as it ended, Hades left the room. When he reached the hallway, he started running, ignoring his friends' calling him. He wanted to be alone. To be far from everyone. He wanted to go back to the underworld, where nothing would remind him of his lost beloved.

He stopped in the middle of the interior garden, looking up at the sky as the rain slowly started falling, hitting his face. He closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle touch of the small drops. It was like the rain was trying to tell him something, to caress his face with a gentle hand. Much like Takeru would do when Hades had breakdowns. When he needed comfort. When he needed him…

"Hades." he heard a voice behind him.

Slowly, the Greek god turned around to find Balder standing there, untouched by the rain. He was smiling sadly at him.

"I'm sorry that… it happened. I didn't want to hurt any of you and… and yet…"

"It's alright." Hades voice come out hoarse. "Don't blame yourself. You weren't Balder back then, and you had no control over what you were doing."

"I won't blame myself if... if you don't blame yourself. Agana Belea told me you felt guilty for being distracted back then, and that you both should have survived. But it isn't your fault, Hades."

Hades smiled, blinking tears out of his eyes. He walked pass Balder, gently tapping him on the shoulder.

"I'll still blame myself. It was caused by my misfortune after all. But I have a promise to keep, so don't worry for me."

And he left, disappearing in the shadows.

Despite wanting to leave for his realm immediately, he felt he should at least bid the others goodbye. He felt he also needed to apologize to Tsukito.

With a heavy heart, he walked through the school, until he met a small group of people who were looking for him. He asked the spirits if they knew where his friends were, and they pointed in the direction of the library.

Heart as heavy as his steps, he walked. But he did feel slightly better. He believed he was going mad due to his sadness and grieving, but he felt like that gentle rain had been a last hug from Takeru, a final goodbye. He still felt guilty, but he knew Takeru was in a good place.

He found the group of gods and Yui inside the library, discussing some matters. Balder was already with them. Yui turned around when she heard the sound of wet shoes against the floor, and immediately ran to Hades to hug him.

"I just came to say goodbye." he whispered as he hugged her back. "I'd rather grieve alone, in the Underworld, where I won't be constantly reminded of him."

"Promise you'll visit me?"

"Someday, maybe. I can grieve for a long time."

"We'll make sure he gets out of his cave every once in a while" Dionysus added as he joined them. "Take care, Hades."

He bid everyone farewell, and apologized to Tsukito. The boy simply smiled and bowed. Apollon wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders, hugging him close and smiling at his uncle.

Hades slowly walked toward his brother's office. Despite having his powers back, he had no idea how to leave the school. After a small, cold talk with Zeus, he finally convinced him to send him back to Erebos right away.

"I'm sorry, Hades. For everything."

"It's too late for that, Zeus."

Hades changed back to his god form and disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

The path to his palace had never been this long. The whispers were loud. The Master was back, after all. Finally, down in the dark, he felt like he didn't have to care what he looked like. He let his sadness show on his face, his back slightly bent to the front, his steps slow and unsure. But there was no one to worry about him anymore. Who cared if he looked like he wanted to die? No one would stop him now. Even if he would honor his final promise to Takeru, he couldn't help the intrusive thoughts that was trying to convince him to try it again.

He reached his palace after what felt like hours. He opened the door, torches lighting up as he walked by them. He reached the throne room, greeted by his ghostly servants, with the intention to sit on his throne and never get up. That seemed like a very, very great plan so far. But something had to beautifully ruin it.

"Whatever took you so long, death boy?" an all too familiar voice said.

But it was impossible. It couldn't be that voice.

Hades looked up and saw someone sitting on his throne, dressed in Japanese-style armor, with blue hair ending in white and golden eyes. He was smiling stupidly at him. How could it even be possible?

"You- here- what- how?" Hades stuttered, making Takeru laugh.

The boy stood up and walked over to Hades. "Had a little talk with Izanami and Thanatos. I knew that hanging out with you, I'd get to see her again. But anyway. I told them I wanted to be with you even in death, and Thanatos brought me here. I've been waiting for a while you know."

"We were finishing school…"

Hades was too surprised to compute what was happening. Takeru was in front of him, but he felt he wasn't alive. And yet… Hades put his hand on Takeru's face, making sure it wasn't a hallucination.

"I'm really here, 'Des" he whispered, leaning gently in the soft touch "Dead, but here. And you're stuck with me forever and ever." he smirked.

Unable to wait any longer, Hades kissed him on the lips, tears of joy rolling down his cheek.

"Welcome home, Hades."

~Fin~


End file.
